Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani

Education

Sheikha Al-Mayassa graduated with a B.A. degree in Political Science and Literature from Duke University (Durham, North Carolina, USA) in 2005. While at Duke, she was Vice President of the International Association, Vice President of Hiwar (an organization to promote political dialogue), and a delegate to the 2001–2002 Model United Nations.

During the 2003–2004 school year, she studied at the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, and the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (known as Sciences Po).

Career

Upon graduation, Sheikha al-Mayassa established the NGO Reach Out To Asia. 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 Qatar Museums, whose CEO Edward Dolman previously served as Chairman of Christie's International, and responsible for cultivating significant cultural events in the region. She has been profiled extensively in the NY Times.

Sheikha Al Mayassa is also Chairperson of the Doha Film Institute which partnered with the Tribeca Film Festival to produce several annual iterations of the Doha Tribeca Film Festival. In February 2013, they announced a $100 million feature film fund with Participant Media, a production company founded by billionaire Jeffrey Skoll, who was the first employee and also first president of internet auction firm eBay.

Art collecting

Sheikha Al Mayassa's wealth and role as Chairperson of Qatar Museums make her influential among art collectors. Bloomberg 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, Paul Gauguin's When Will You Marry? in 2015 for $300 million, Cezanne's The Card Players in 2012 for $250 million, as well as Mark Rothko's White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose) in 2007 for $70 million, a Damien Hirst pill cabinet for $20 million and works by Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Francis Bacon. She has staged major exhibitions in Qatar with Takashi Murakami, Richard Serra and Damien Hirst (underwriting his exhibit first at the Tate Modern prior to opening in Doha). The Sheikha oversees a vast array of museums including the I. M. Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art, Doha. A Jean Nouvel-designed National Museum of Qatar and an Orientalist Museum by Herzog & de Meuron are slated to open in the coming years.

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.

Family

Sheikha Mayassa is the sister of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Her father Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani is the former Emir, and mother Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned, the former First Lady.

Sheikha Mayassa's mother Sheikha Mozah is responsible for opening campuses of several world-class academic institutions in Doha, including Virginia Commonwealth University, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University, Northwestern University, Texas A&M University and Weill Cornell Medical College and the University of Calgary in Qatar.

Her brother Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani is the Chairman of Qatar's winning bid to stage the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha.

Sheikha Al Mayassa's father founded Al Jazeera and established the Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund to manage the country's oil and natural gas surpluses. The Qatar Investment Authority and its subsidiaries have acquired many businesses abroad, including London's iconic department store Harrods from entrepreneur Mohammed Al-Fayed, Paris based department store Printemps, French football club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., a 10% stake in Porsche, a 75% stake in film studio Miramax which they acquired from Disney, a 2% stake in media conglomerate and Universal Music Group parent company Vivendi, a $100 million USD investment in Chernin Group – whose founder Peter Chernin was COO of News Corp and President of Fox, a 1% stake in luxury goods manufacturer Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, a 6% stake in Credit Suisse, a 12.6% stake in Barclays and several other major companies. They also backed Glencore's $31 billion USD takeover bid for Xstrata. Qatar is the largest property owner in London with their holdings including Europe's tallest building The Shard, Olympic Village and Park Lane's InterContinental Hotel. They also own several hotels in Cannes including the Majestic Hotel, Grand Hyatt Cannes Hôtel Martinez and Carlton Hotel. QIA was considered to have one of the leading bids in the sales of both Anschutz Entertainment Group and Hulu. As of May 2013, it was reported the Investment Authority is in talks to purchase Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.

Marriage and children

Sheikha Al-Mayassa married Sheikh Jassim bin Abdul Aziz 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 three sons and one daughter.