- A recent investigation by the Middle East Forum documents how Northwestern University in Qatar functions less as an impartial American academic outpost and more as a privileged training ground for Qatar’s royal and elite families.
- The investigation found that since 2007, the Qatar Foundation (QF), controlled by the Al-Thani royal family, has poured more than $700 million into Northwestern’s partnership.
- According to the report, approximately 21 percent of the graduates between 2014-2025 bear surnames from the Al-Thani royal family or 11 other elite Qatari dynasties. In peak years, such as 2020, elite families comprised up to 35 percent of a graduating class.
- The Middle East Forum’s findings expose the school not as a genuine branch campus of an American university, but as a patronage pipeline cultivating Qatar’s next generation of leaders. Read More
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