As the world’s attention turns to the emirate for the World Cup, an Observer investigation reveals that it and its ruling family have amassed a £10bn property empire
Prince Andrew, Boris Johnson and the prime minister of Qatar gazed through rain-spattered glass on to the streets of London far below as they celebrated the opening of Britain’s tallest building, the Shard.
For Johnson, then mayor of London, the unseasonably cold July day in 2012 symbolised London’s resurgence after the devastation of the global financial crisis.
