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June 3, 2026 | Memo
Natalie Ecanow | Senior Research Analyst
Foreword
By Jonathan Schanzer
Why has a country of just 330,000 citizens that is half the size of New Jersey and a leading patron of the Muslim Brotherhood plowed $400 billion dollars into the United States? This amounts to approximately $1.2 million per Qatari citizen — an enormous sum.
FDD’s Natalie Ecanow has labored for more than a year, collecting the receipts for these Qatari transactions, most of which have taken place over the past decade. But as Natalie notes, $400 billion is a lowball estimate. She erred on the side of caution. If you take the word of Qatari government estimates or even the White House, the total number may exceed $1.2 trillion.
Some Americans may welcome the generosity of the Qatari regime. After all, one could argue that a great many of these investments — spanning energy, defense, biotech and other important sectors — serve to benefit the U.S. economy and U.S. citizens. One could also argue that Qatar, like Japan, Canada, or other countries that sink billions in the United States, simply seeks return on investment.
But Qatar is different. There are more than a few reasons to question the largesse of the Qatari government. At the end of the day, Qatar is ruled by an Islamist, autocratic regime; Freedom House consistently ranks the country as “Not Free” in its annual Freedom in the World survey. And Doha’s failure to guarantee the rights of its citizens is not the biggest problem. Rather, it is the country’s tendency to support jihadi causes in the Middle East that raises significantly more concern. The country’s horrific track record in this regard distinguishes Qatar from other Gulf states that spread their wealth in America.
Though the U.S. government has delineated Qatar as a “Major Non-NATO Ally” and has positioned its Combined Air Operations Center at the Al-Udeid base in Qatar, this regime may qualify as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism.” The regime has sheltered Al-Qaeda. It was a patron for the Taliban before the group recaptured Afghanistan, ending America’s intervention there. The government is a longstanding patron of Hamas, the terrorist group that plunged the Middle East into violence on October 7, 2023. Finally, it is the primary patron of the Muslim Brotherhood, a global network of violent and nonviolent Islamist groups that seek the downfall of the West. Several branches of this network have recently been sanctioned by the U.S. government.
Beyond that, the regime in Qatar has been embroiled in other scandals that should give Americans pause. Qatar bribed its way to hosting the World Cup in 2022. Later that year, the scandal known as “Qatargate” rocked the European Union when Qatari bribes to European parliamentarians were exposed. The bribes were reportedly designed to buy influence to rehabilitate Qatar’s image amid reports that more than 6,500 migrant workers had died during the construction of the country’s World Cup stadiums.
To whitewash these and other offenses, the Qataris wield the Al-Jazeera Media Network, which broadcasts in multiple languages and multiple formats, to spread the regime’s messages. Al Jazeera’s U.S.-based affiliate, AJ+, has defied U.S. law for over five years by failing to register as a foreign agent.
It is for these reasons, and perhaps others, that Qatar’s massive investments in the United States should be scrutinized. Some of these investments include naked influence-peddling — from sponsorship of the annual congressional baseball game to annual White House correspondents’ dinner parties. The Qataris spend an enormous amount on lobby groups and public relations, which helps ensure that their investments continue with minimal scrutiny.
Perhaps most disturbing is the massive amount this small Islamic state has invested in American education. Qatar has half as many citizens as Washington, DC, has residents. Yet somehow, it has surpassed China as the largest foreign funder of American colleges and universities. This is baffling. It is safe to say that the regime in Doha is not a stalwart champion of traditional liberal arts education curricula. Even more disturbing: the regime is funding public K-12 schools, engaging American children in the classroom at a young age.
In an era of heightened cognitive combat, disinformation, and foreign influence, it is time for the United States government to look not just at China and Russia, but other autocratic states — and maybe democracies, too. Examining foreign capital is especially important when the numbers rise above a certain threshold. While it might be fair to quibble over what that number should be, it is safe to say that $400 billion, let alone $1.2 trillion, is probably far beyond what Americans would deem acceptable.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is a U.S. government body that scrutinizes investments by foreign governments in industries and businesses that could leave America vulnerable. It is time for CFIUS to address concerns about foreign influence in addition to national security risks.
The involvement of CFIUS need not lead to a ban on Qatari investments in the United States. To be sure, foreign direct investment (FDI) by countries of all stripes is an important way to attract wealth to the United States. But not all foreign money should be welcomed. This country is not a charity. Nor is it for sale. It is time to take a closer look at all the ways that Qatari and other foreign money may be buying influence.
The following report by FDD’s Natalie Ecanow provides a good first glimpse at Qatari dollars in America. It is certainly not the final word on the problem. But it should prompt a serious discussion. From there, one can only hope that a more serious national dialogue, followed by legislation or other government measures, can begin to tackle the problem.
America should be open to foreign direct investment, but not unwanted foreign influence. Qatar may only be one of many nondemocratic regimes seeking to buy sway in this country. Guardrails are needed now.
Introduction
If preparations proceed on schedule, the $400 million jet that Qatar gifted President Donald Trump will join the Air Force One fleet by America’s 250th birthday in July. When Trump first accepted the proffered “palace in the sky” in May 2025, a firestorm erupted in Washington. While criticism from across the aisle is to be expected, many of the president’s strongest supporters also expressed deep reservations. As a New York Sun editorial noted, “sometimes the scandal is not what is illegal but what is legal.” This gift, as the Sun observed, comes from a monarchy that has financed America’s adversaries, pointing out that, “The Framers understood that gifts from other nations are rarely animated by unalloyed generosity.” The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board expressed similar concerns about an American president being indebted to Qatari royals. “If the emir calls the White House to share his views on Iran, Israel and the region, won’t he expect the President to pick up the phone? Should voters even have to wonder?” the board asked.
Trump defended his decision on the grounds that accepting the plane simply makes sense from a budgetary perspective. He then defended the Qataris by asserting, “They also gave $5.1 trillion worth of investment in addition to the jet.” It is unclear where Trump got this number, although one week earlier, the White House announced a $1.2 trillion “economic commitment” from Qatar. An official fact sheet identified $243.5 billion of deals between U.S. and Qatari firms in various stages of negotiation but did not explain how Washington and Doha will “generate” the remainder of the headline figure of $1.2 trillion. That same week, a lengthy analysis by The Free Press found $93.7 billion of Qatari spending in the United States — an unusual sum for a country roughly the size of Connecticut with a citizen population smaller than that of Washington, DC.
Yet the actual amount of money that Qatar has spent, invested, and donated is at least four times higher, reaching $400 billion since 2000. This figure derives from a careful investigation of regulatory filings, business databases, lobbying disclosures, and other public sources of information. For Qatar, a country home to approximately 330,000 citizens, that sum represents approximately $1.2 million per capita. And the true figure is higher. There is a long list of investments, especially in venture capital, for which a monetary value is not publicly reported.
Qatari money touches nearly every industry in America, from defense and energy to real estate, media, and sports. Doha’s ventures have entailed a cornucopia of transactions, including investments, grants, purchases, and pledges. Thus, there is no single word or term that captures the ways in which Qatar deploys its wealth. Some of these transactions are straightforward investments that yield returns. Others, like employing lobbyists, amount to direct spending on influence. Many fall somewhere in between. Yet even a profit-driven business venture can double as a source of influence. When Doha brings capital and jobs to an American city or state, its leaders will naturally become more concerned about Qatari interests.
This relationship between business ventures and political influence takes on special importance when a foreign power is providing the funds. In each case here, the investment vehicle or grantor is either government-controlled or run by members of Qatar’s ruling family. None are independent commercial actors in the way that British Petroleum or Toyota Motors are. For that reason, it becomes especially important to examine how economic relationships may serve the political agenda of the Al-Thani ruling family, whose interests and priorities are often antithetical or even hostile to those of the United States. To be clear, this memo does not claim that any of the ventures it describes are illicit or unlawful. Nonetheless, Qatari dollars raise red flags because, as the Sun’s editorial board noted, the scandal may be what is legal.
The nexus between wealth and influence also takes on special importance because Qatar has persuaded many in Washington that it is a trustworthy partner despite its patronage of Hamas, the Taliban, and the Muslim Brotherhood. Similarly, Doha’s state-owned Al Jazeera Media Network amplifies Islamist propaganda for an audience of hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide. The country is also at the center of corruption probes in Europe, Israel, and Washington, and made headlines for allegedly buying hosting rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Clearly, Doha is unafraid to punch above its weight by walking the line between licit and illicit financial activity.
Qatar’s record notwithstanding, both the Biden and Trump administrations have elevated Doha’s status. The former designated Qatar a Major Non-NATO Ally in 2022 and admitted the emirate to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in 2024. The latter then extended U.S. security assurances to Qatar in September 2025. The two administrations share few foreign policy instincts, yet both chose to upgrade ties with Qatar rather than proceed with caution.
The United States welcomes foreign investment, which creates jobs and drives economic growth. But when an autocratic, Islamist regime with a record of bribery and terror finance sinks over a million dollars per citizen into the United States, it is worth asking why.
Natalie Ecanow is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Natalie and FDD please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD. Follow Natalie on X @NatalieEcanow. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on foreign policy and national security.
