India, May 20 -- Qatar's Al Thani family, one of the richest royal clans in the world, boasts a truly astounding net worth. Ruling since the 19th century, the family has made significant contributions to making Qatar the sovereign state that it is today, from gaining autonomy from the Ottoman Empire to emerging as a leading Gulf state and energy supplier in the world.

While Jassim bin Mohammed (1878-1913), the second sheikh, is considered the founder of Qatar, it was the seventh sheikh, Khalifa bin Hamad (1972-1995), who freed Qatar from the British in 1971 and became the first emir.

In recent years, the Al Thani family has shifted focus from oil production toward liquefied natural gas, courtesy of Hamad's son, Hamad bin Khalifa (1995-...