Alo Yoga, say “alo” to your new owner: a mysterious Qatari sheikh, whose charitable foundation would have been pointed out by the country’s Middle East rivals for alleged ties to terrorism.
Qatari Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah bin Thani al-Thani closed the $ 40 million purchase last week on 164 Fifth Ave., a beautiful 1918 six-story Vintage flatiron building between West 21nd and 22nd Streets.
Its 17,600-square-foot Los Angeles-based flagship New York-based Alo Yoga boat houses a yoga studio and a women’s sportswear store full of sexy photos of young and cheerful women in what the brand he calls them “attentive moments”. Famous chef Matthew Kenney’s new restaurant, Sutra, will soon hit the top floor.
The sale meant a modest shot in the arm for the postponed investment selling market: Sitt bought 164 Fifth in 2014 for just $ 23 million. Sources said the purchase of the sheikh was likely for investment purposes, as Alo Yoga has 13 years left to rent.
But the sheikh himself could be the most interesting part of the story. He signed the purchase documents in his own name, a rarity when most foreign buyers hide their identities behind limited liability companies.
The personal signature suggests a man with nothing to hide. And while little known outside the Middle East, the ultra-rich king, a member of Qatar’s al-Thani family, is caught in a whirlwind of intrigue involving Qatar and four neighboring Persian Gulf states. resentful of Qatar’s growing wealth and influence.
Sheikh al-Thani is the founder and director of real estate giant Ezdan Holding, based in Doha, Qatar, technically a listed operation, but whose shares are 94% controlled by members of the al-Thani family. . The pop-like real estate empire reported third-quarter net profit of $ 57 million, down from $ 140 million in the same period in 2019.
From public records it is unclear whether the sheikh bought the building in person or through Ezdan; the title is in the name of 164 Fifth Ave., Inc. at 599 Lexington Ave.
But while Ezdan’s website cites the roles of the sheikh in various medical, educational and humanitarian charities, it curiously omits the one for which it is controversial. He is also the founder of the Thani Bin Abdullah Bin Thani Al-Thani Humanitarian Fund, according to his profile at UNHCR, the UN refugee agency to which he has given abundantly.
The foundation, also known as RAF for its Arab initials, appeared in a 2017 list compiled by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt of 59 Qatari individuals and organizations suspected of aiding terrorist groups in Turkey, Syria, Gaza, Iraq and within its own borders, according to Arab News, an English-language newspaper published in Saudi Arabia.
The four countries ended diplomatic relations with Qatar in 2017 and have since carried out a punitive trade boycott against it. The Saudis even uprooted 12,000 Qatari camels that were diverted to their territory.
President Trump has suggested that Qatar has terrorist links, but the claims have not been verified. The United States has a large air base in Qatar.
Trump said last year: “They are investing a lot in our country. They are creating a lot of jobs. They buy huge amounts of military equipment, including planes. ”
Emails requesting comments sent to the sheikh through Ezdan’s website and the al-Thani humanitarian fund were not returned.