Qatar bought an Iconic Piece of Manhattan Real Estate

Qatar has currently emerged as the surprise buyer of New York’s iconic Plaza Hotel. Katara Hospitality, which buys and manages hotels around the world for the Qatar government, bought the property for approximately $600 million. Katara bought the majority stake held by India’s Sahara Group as well as a 25% stake held by real-estate investor Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp and its partner Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal. The Qatari government owns hotels including The Savoy and The Connaught in London. Its $300 billion-plus sovereign wealth fund (SWF), called the Qatar Investment Authority, has also made investments in companies such as Volkswagen and Glencore.