Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (; born 1983) is the sister of

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

's ruling Emir

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (; born 3 June 1980) is Emir of Qatar, reigning since 2013. Tamim is the fourth son of former emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, born to his second spouse, Moza bint Nasser, Moza bint Nassir. He became heir ...

, and daughter of the country's former Emir

Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (; born 1 January 1952) is a member of Qatar's royal family, the House of Thani. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 until 2013 when he abdicated the throne, handing power to his fourth son Tamim bin Hamad Al ...

and his second wife Sheikha

Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned (; born 8 August 1959) is one of the three consorts of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former emir of Qatar. She is the mother of the current emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. She is the co-founder and ch ...

. Al-Mayassa was listed as the most influential person in art on

Art+Auction An art auction or fine art auction is the sale of art works, in most cases in an auction house. In England this dates from the latter part of the 17th century, when in most cases the names of the auctioneers were suppressed. In June 1693, Joh ...

's top-10 list and

ArtReview ''ArtReview'' is an international contemporary art magazine based in London, founded in 1948. Its sister publication, ''ArtReview Asia'', was established in 2013. History Launched as a fortnightly broadsheet in February 1949 by a retired country ...

's Power 100, and appears on the

Time 100 ''Time'' 100 is a list of the top 100 most influential people, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, politicians, and journalists, the list is now a highly ...

, and Forbes' The World's 100 Most Powerful Women. She was listed in the 'Top 100 most powerful Arabs' from 2014 to 2017 and 2021 by ''

Gulf Business __NOTOC__ ''Gulf Business'' is a weekly magazine published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and focusing on Middle East business news, especially in GCC countries. It was launched in 1996. It is published in Motivate Media Group. The magazine ...

''. Al-Mayassa serves as Chairperson of

Qatar Museums Qatar Museums (formerly the Qatar Museums Authority) was founded in 2005 and is a Qatari government entity that oversees the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, MIA Park, QM Gallery at the Katara Cultural Village, A ...

, and it was reported by

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...

that her annual acquisition budget on behalf of the organization is estimated at $1 billion. Al-Mayassa reportedly bought

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

's '' When Will You Marry?'' in 2015 for $300 million, a record price for a painting. In March 2016, she opened the exhibition ''What About the Art?'' A New Exhibition curated by Chinese artist

Cai Guo-Qiang Cai Guo-Qiang (; born 8 December 1957) is a Chinese artist. Biography Cai Guo-Qiang was born in 1957 in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China. His father, Cai Ruiqin, was a calligrapher and traditional painter who worked in a bookstore. As a res ...

at Al Riwaq Gallery. Qatar has bought Cezanne's ''

The Card Players ''The Card Players'' is a series of oil paintings by the French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Cézanne. Painted during Cézanne's final period in the early 1890s, there are five paintings in the series. The versions vary in size, the number o ...

'' in 2012 for $250 million, as well as

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko ( ; Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz until 1940; September 25, 1903February 25, 1970) was an American abstract art, abstract painter. He is best known for his color field paintings that depicted irregular and painterly rectangular reg ...

's ''

White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose) White Center is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It lies between West Seattle and Burien, Washington, Burien. The population was 16,631 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. White Center is some ...

'' in 2007 for $70 million, a

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...

pill cabinet for $20 million and works by

Jeff Koons Jeffrey Lynn Koons (; born January 21, 1955) is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror- finish s ...

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein ( ; October27, 1923September29, 1997) was an American pop artist. He rose to prominence in the 1960s through pieces which were inspired by popular advertising and the comic book style. Much of his work explores the relations ...

and

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

. She has staged major exhibitions in Qatar with

Takashi Murakami is a Japanese contemporary artist. He works in fine arts (such as painting and sculpture) as well as commercial media (such as fashion, merchandise, and animation) and is known for blurring the line between High art, high and low arts. His wo ...

Richard Serra Richard Serra (November 2, 1938 – March 26, 2024) was an American artist known for his large-scale Abstract art, abstract sculptures made for Site-specific art, site-specific landscape, urban, and Architecture, architectural settings, a ...

, and

Education

Sheikha Al-Mayassa graduated with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

(

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

) in 2005. During the 2003–2004 school year, she studied at the

University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, and the

Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

(known as Sciences Po).

Career

Upon graduation, Sheikha al-Mayassa established the NGO

Reach Out To Asia The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development () is a state-led non-profit organization in Qatar, founded in 1995 by then-emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned. According to the Q ...

. This organization is a philanthropic effort inspired by the desire to help the victims of recent natural disasters in Asia by providing quality education; it also celebrated the occasion of the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. Sheikha Al-Mayassa is the chairperson of

is responsible for cultivating significant cultural events in the region. She has been profiled extensively in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Sheikha Al-Mayassa is chairperson of the

Doha Film Institute Doha Film Institute (DFI) is a nonprofit cultural organisation established in 2010 by Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani to support the growth of the Qatari film community and to provide funding and international networking oppo ...

(DFI), which she founded in 2010. The institute partnered with the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

to produce several annual iterations of the

Doha Tribeca Film Festival The Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) was an annual five-day film festival that was organised from 2009 to 2012 to promote Arab and international films, and to develop a sustainable film industry in Qatar. One of Qatar's largest entertainment event ...

. In February 2013, they announced a $100 million feature film fund with

Participant Media Participant Media, LLC was an American independent Film industry, film and television production company founded in 2004 by Jeffrey Skoll, dedicated to entertainment intended to spur social change. The company financed and co-produced film and te ...

, a production company founded by

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

Jeffrey Skoll Jeffrey Stuart Skoll (born January 16, 1965) is a Canadian engineer, billionaire internet entrepreneur and film producer. He was the first president of eBay, eventually using the wealth this gave him to become a philanthropist, particularly thr ...

, who was the first employee and first president of internet auction firm

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

. Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA) launched in September 2018 under the patronage of Sheikha Moza bint Nasser as honorary chair and co-chaired by Sheikha Al-Mayassa and

Tania Fares Tania Fares is a Lebanese fashion writer based in London with homes in Lebanon and Los Angeles, United States. In 2011, she founded and co-chaired, with Sian Westerman, the BFC Fashion Trust, a charity supported by the British Fashion Council. ...

(Founder of Fashion Trust). FTA is the only initiative of its kind operating in the Arab world, dedicated to finding and nurturing talented designers. She is a member of the board of trustees at

Qatar Foundation The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development () is a state-led non-profit organization in Qatar, founded in 1995 by then-List of emirs of Qatar, emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser Al-Miss ...

. In 2018, she was named to a three-year term on the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

board of trustees. She is a member of the Leadership Council of The Democracy & Culture Foundation. In April 2023, Sheikha Al-Mayassa was a speaker at the "Art for Tomorrow" conference in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, organized by the Democracy & Culture Foundation in collaboration with The New York Times. In December 2023, she launched her podcast, "The Power of Culture", which focuses on the cultural scene in Qatar.

Art collecting

Sheikha Al-Mayassa's wealth and role as Chairperson of Qatar Museums make her influential among art collectors.

reported her acquisition budget on behalf of Qatar Museums is estimated at $1 billion annually. Sheikha Al-Mayassa is said to have purchased the most expensive painting in the world,

's When Will You Marry? in 2015 for $300 million, Cezanne's

in 2012 for $250 million, as well as

in 2007 for $70 million, a

pill cabinet for $20 million and works by

and

. She has staged major exhibitions in Qatar with

, and

(underwriting his exhibit first at the

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

prior to opening in Doha). The Sheikha oversees a vast array of museums including the

I. M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...

-designed

Museum of Islamic Art, Doha The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA; ) is a museum on one end of the Corniche in Doha, Qatar. As per the architect I. M. Pei's specifications, the museum is built on an island off an artificial projecting peninsula near the traditional '' dhow'' ha ...

, which opened in November 2008, and the

Jean Nouvel Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and ''Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has ob ...

-designed

National Museum of Qatar The National Museum of Qatar is a national museum in Doha, Qatar. The current building opened to the public on 28 March 2019, replacing the previous building which opened in 1975. The building was designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel who ...

, which opened in March 2019. The Orientalist Museum by

Herzog & de Meuron Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd. is an international architecture firm headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, with additional offices in Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Munich, New York City, Paris, and San Francisco. Founded in 1978 by Jacques Herzog and ...

is slated to open in the coming year. Sheikha Al-Mayassa participated in a TED Talk in February 2012, where she highlighted the importance of the social impact of art. She affirmed that her goal was to create a local collection of art to contribute in shaping the Qatari national identity.

Controversies

In 2019 three British and American workers – a bodyguard, personal trainer and private tutor – sued Sheikha al Mayassa and her husband, in New York, alleging that they had been made to work long hours without overtime. The couple denied the allegations and settled without any admission of liability.

Family

Sheikha Mayassa is the sister of the

Emir of Qatar The Emir of the State of Qatar () is the monarch and head of state of the country. The emir is also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and guarantor of the Constitution. The emir holds the most powerful position in the country, and has a ...

, Sheikh

. Her father Sheikh

Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (; born 1 January 1952) is a member of Qatar's royal family, the House of Thani. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 until 2013 when he abdicated the throne, handing power to his fourth son Tamim bin Hamad Al T ...

is the former Emir. Sheikha Mayassa's mother Sheikha

Moza bint Nasser Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned (; born 8 August 1959) is one of the three consorts of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former emir of Qatar. She is the mother of the current emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. She is the co-founder and ch ...

is responsible for opening campuses of several world-class academic institutions in Doha, including

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

and

Weill Cornell Medical College Weill Cornell Medicine (; officially Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University), originally Cornell University Medical College, is the medical school of Cornell University, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in Ne ...

and the University of Calgary in Qatar. Her brother Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani is the Chairman of Qatar's winning bid to stage the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

in Doha. Sheikha Al-Mayassa's father former Emir of Qatar from 1995 to 2013, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, established the

Qatar Investment Authority The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA; ) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In November 2024, the QIA had an estimated $526 ...

, a sovereign wealth fund to manage the country's oil and natural gas surpluses. The Qatar Investment Authority and its

subsidiaries A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidiary company. Unl ...

have acquired many businesses abroad, including London's department store

Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...

from entrepreneur

Mohammed Al-Fayed Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al-Fayed (; 27 January 192930 August 2023) was an Egyptian businessman whose residence and primary business interests were in the United Kingdom from the mid-1960s. His business interests included ownership of the Hôtel R ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

based department store

Printemps Printemps is a French luxury department store chain founded in 1865, which focuses on beauty, lifestyle, fashion and accessories. The flagship store "le Printemps Haussmann" is located on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Pari ...

, a 75% stake in

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company that makes films. Today, studios are mostly financing and distribution entities. In addition, they may have their own studio facility or facilities; how ...

Miramax Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

, a 2% stake in

media conglomerate A media conglomerate, media company, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, video games, amusement parks, or ...

and

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

Vivendi Vivendi SE (stylized in all lowercase) is a French investment company headquartered in Paris. It currently wholly-owns Gameloft as well as a number of investments in several companies, primarily involved in content, entertainment, media, and t ...

, a 1% stake in

luxury goods In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good (economics), good for which demand (economics), demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a more significant proportion of ove ...

manufacturer

Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...

and several other major companies.

Marriage and children

Sheikha Al-Mayassa married Sheikh Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al Thani at Al-Wajbah Palace, Doha, on 6 January 2006. Sheikh Jassim is an elder son of Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, making them second cousins. Together they have four sons and one daughter. * Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al Thani. * Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al Thani. * Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al Thani. * Sheikha Norah bint Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al Thani * Sheikh Tamim bin Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al Thani.

References

External links

Muslim Women: Past and Present
about Al-Thani * *
"Globalizing the local, localizing the global" (TEDWomen 2010)

Podcast: The Power of Culture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thani, Al-Mayassa Hamad Khalifa 1983 births Living people Al-Mayassa Hamad Khalifa Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni Sciences Po alumni Qatari art collectors Museum directors Women museum directors Women art collectors Daughters of monarchs Children of prime ministers of Qatar