Free media reports that over the past four decades, Qatar has dumped billions of dollars into American universities.
Sunni Gulf State became known as the "Palace in the Sky" on a $400 million plane by President Donald Trump and recently hosted him as part of his Tornado Middle Eastern Tour.
The White House announced that Qatar agreed to invest $243.5 billion in U.S. companies on Thursday. Since the terrorist invasion of the Jewish state on October 7, Qatar has also served as a mediator between Israel and Hamas in hostages and ceasefire negotiations.
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Over the past four decades, Qatar has spent more than $6 billion on American universities. (Marwan Namani/AFP via Getty Images)
Qatar is a monarchy ruled by the Al-Thani family, and has rapidly reversed its fate in recent years in its international status. In 2017, the Gulf State (a residence of only 2.65 million people) was the subject of an economic and travel lockdown initiated by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, which they accused it of being too close to Iran and sponsored terrorism. But today, Qatar enjoys a warm relationship with the United States and is a major player in world affairs.
The Emirates is the largest foreign fundraiser for American universities, donating $4.7 billion between 2000 and 2021, according to a 2022 National Association of Scholars’ research, and has spent $6.3 billion on American universities since the government began recording in 1986. Qatar even has an "education city" that has branches of several elite American universities.
Northwestern University opened a journalism school in 2025 at the wealthy Bay State University, receiving more than $600 million in funding from Qatar. Cornell's Qatar medical school, established in 2001, received nearly $1.8 billion from the country, Carnegie Mellon's Qatari extension received over $740 million from the oil-rich country, Texas A&M's Engineering school in Qatar received nearly $700 million in funding, Virginia Common Wealth University in Qatar received $100 million and Georgetown University in Doha received over $760 million from the monarchy.
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The U.S. and Qatar have just signed an economic agreement, with the emirate pledging to invest more than $200 billion in the U.S. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
Georgetown University in Qatar awarded Emim bin hamad al Timim bin hamad al Tani's mother, Sheikha Bint Nasser, the university's "Presidential Award" in April. Bint Nasser manages the Qatar Foundation, which is responsible for the city's education. The Qatari Royal praised Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar after being assassinated by IDF in October 2024.
She posted on X: "Yahya's name refers to a person who lives. They think he is dead, but he is alive. Just like his eponymous Yahya bin Zakariya, he will continue to live and they will disappear."
Several Hamas leaders reportedly live in luxury hotels in Qatar. The Gulf states have long insisted that they receive terrorist officials at the request of the United States in order to better negotiate between Israel. Critics claim that Qatar’s high support for American universities has exacerbated the anti-Semitism crisis that has plagued American universities.
Fox News's Bret Baier asked Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani to make a big investment in American universities on Thursday. Al-Thani dismissed allegations that his country attempted to “buy influence”, saying that spending was to provide “American quality” education to the people of the Middle East.
Qatar hosted several Hamas leaders in their country. (Majdi Fathi/Nurphoto via Getty Images)
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"In many ways, you will always see Qatar in many ways over the past 25 years," Al Dani said.
Former President Joe Biden has designated Katar as a non-NATO ally in 2022. Trump announces Qatar will invest $10 billion as part of its recent economic deal with the U.S.
Qatar, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, Northwest, Texas A&M, Cornell University and Virginia Commonwealth University did not respond to a request for comment on this story.