Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, born on November 11, 1991, better known as K.H.K, is the current Qatari Minister of the Interior, a Qatari royal, and a prominent car collector. He has shown the world what it means to be a Qatari sheikh in the modern era, and it doesn’t differ much from the past. Their lives are still filled with opulence, surrounded by luxury and cashmere-soft comforts. They travel the globe, yet no matter where they roam, they hold the world in their grasp. Hamad, a 32-year-old Qatari royal, has garnered global attention at times for his extravagant car collection, his leisurely time spent in sunny LA, and his lavish lifestyle befitting royalty. Below is a detailed overview of his life, family, work, and everything in between.
He arrived in sun-kissed LA in princely style-
Landing in Los Angeles, the city known as a haven for the ultra-wealthy, the prince from Qatar disembarked his private jet, flanked by a retinue of servants, ready to embark on his collegiate journey. Eschewing a dorm or even renting a mansion, the prince opted for the plush Beverly Wilshire hotel as his residence, where rates start at $1,000 a night. He embarked on a journey so extravagant that it’s beyond what even ultra-rich undergraduates or dot-com billionaires would contemplate. He booked luxury suites for Lakers games, enjoyed lunch regularly at the plush Ivy restaurant, and made regular excursions to gamble in Las Vegas.
Throughout his stay in the foreign land, the prince had a team to fall back on, including security detail, concierges, trainers, a nurse, an all-purpose fixer, and a graduate student who served as his academic escort. His lifestyle did not evade the tabloids and scribes, and a detailed excerpt of his educational stint in LA was shared in an article in the LA Times.
The hedonistic ways of this charming prince-
When in LA, the prince made waves not only for his flamboyance but also for several incidents that are practically unheard of by the common man. He was anything but regular, and tales of the Qatari royal forging documents or flouting university rules set the rumor mills ablaze. In true royal style, he did the unthinkable—from gifting a UCLA dean with a golden camel statue to giving a Rolex to a professor and even buying a $500 gift for a DMV employee with a hankering for a vanity plate.
Those close to the prince were at the receiving end of ultra-luxe niceties as well. His butlers enjoyed the plushness of $600-a-night rooms at the Beverly Wilshire. His entourage, comprising a half-dozen chauffeurs and security guards, dined in the upscale hotel restaurant, where ordering a cheeseburger can set you back $30, but being a part of KHK’s workforce surely has some scrumptious perks.
Whether in Qatar or LA, this royal prince could not stay away from his true passion, fast cars. The petrolhead regularly rented supercars in California and even brought two of his own from his homeland: a $890,000 McLaren and a $1.5-million LaFerrari.
Leaving behind the KHK mark-
Not even the Kardashians exhibited a flair like the young Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the youngest brother of Qatar’s current emir. His family’s wealth comes from the Qatar Investment Authority (In October 2023, the QIA had an estimated $475 billion of assets under management), which controls oil and gas reserves. The Al Thani family is among the top 5 richest families in the world worth $335 billion. This scion of the wealthy clan that has ruled over Qatar since the mid-19th century painted the town crimson with his charm and a head-turning entourage. If it wasn’t staff, then it was an assemblage of family, cousins, and friends from the gas-rich nation.
The group whizzed through LA streets like falcons in the sky in a fleet of supercars. Even in all this chaos, the prince was identifiable owing to his customized attire emblazoned with his initials: KHK. It became his insignia, so much so that his ball caps, beanies, athletic shorts, and hoodies all bore his initials. Even his cars, like the Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 or the Bugatti Chiron painted in Jet Grey, were emblazoned with the ‘KHK’ emblem.
Back to reality and the life of a grown-up in Qatar-
After graduating from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s and master’s degree, KHK, whose family has ruled the tiny nation of Qatar since the 19th century, returned home. He assumed his role as an officer in the country’s internal security service. In December 2019, Al Thani was elected as the new president of Al-Duhail SC. “I am honored to accept this position. I ask God to grant me success and to my brothers, the members of the board of directors … We look forward to providing everything that amounts to the name of the club and its members and fans,” Sheikh Khalifa said. He was also Commander of Security Operations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
His mother is Qatar’s First Lady-
The fashionable force, Sheikha Moza, a mother of seven, dotes on her youngest son as expected. The 63-year-old mother of the current Emir of Qatar met with the USC president to cater to the needs of her youngest son, KHK. A billionaire trustee moderated a private meeting between the two parties to shed light on the prince’s way of life, security concerns, etc. A champion of education, the co-founder and chairperson of the Qatar Foundation, the First Lady of Qatar, ensured top-quality education for her offspring. Prince Hamad’s father, who served as emir until 2013, attended the British military academy Sandhurst, and his older siblings went to elite universities including Harvard, Duke, and Georgetown. The prince shares a close bond with his parents, evident from his social media account where he often shares images of his family in their private space, engaging in conversations and posing for their youngest son.
Image- https://www.instagram.com/p/BznBqQ5HRt7/?hl=en Via Instagram / @khk
For KHK, it is always family first-
A recce of the current Qatari Minister of the Interior’s Instagram profile makes it easy to guess he is a family man. The 32-year-old Qatari royal dotes on his many nieces and nephews and shares several images featuring his father, the former Emir of Qatar. His photographs offer the world a refreshing glimpse into the lives of royals and kings who are otherwise only seen at official events and seldom in their true element.
From having meals together to playing, relaxing in open surroundings, tending to animals, watching sunsets, the clan enjoys each other’s company.
A crazy car collection, even for a royal-
According to British media, the jet-setting sheikh has even traveled with his fleet of cars to different capitals of the world. Like the Prince, his car collection comprising some of the most sought-after cars has been on the streets of Monaco, London, LA, and more, doing what they do best! KHK’s assortment of supercars includes the latest and greatest limited-edition supercars, personalized exactly to his needs.
To name a few of his limited-edition hypercars, the affluent brother of Qatar’s ruler owns a Bugatti Divo, a Lamborghini Sian FKP 37, and a Ferrari Monza SP2. The royal boasts what is dubbed the holy trinity of hybrid hypercars: McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari, a Porsche 918 Spyder. He is known to use California license plates “KHALIFA”
A passionate prince-
Prince Hamad’s interests extend beyond fast cars to include outdoor, adrenaline-pumping activities such as camel races, seabobbing, flyboarding, skydiving, horse riding, and more. Like many in the Middle East, the young royal is also passionate about falconry.
The Qatar royal family owns a fleet of superyachts that this full-of-life youngster can enjoy, from the $400 million Katara Yacht equipped with a helicopter deck, satellite domes, tenders, and jet skis, to Al Lusail, the Emir of Qatar’s $500 million superyacht, that is another incredible floating playground for the prince’s thrilling activities. The 404-foot Lurssen six-decker comes with a separate owner’s residence. There is a 30-foot tender garage that houses a D-RIB and two limousine tenders fit for royalty and their guests. What more can a prince want?
