Qatar's emir took power from his cousin in 1972; in 1995 his son took it from him and froze his bank accounts abroad

In 1971 Qatar's ruler, Ahmad bin Ali, reportedly took about a quarter of the country's oil income, and the wider Al Thani family a third to a half. On 22 February 1972 his cousin Khalifa bin Hamad, named heir in 1960, took power with family backing and cut the family's allowances. Western sources called it an overthrow; Qataris called it a succession. On 27 June 1995, while Khalifa was in Switzerland, his son Hamad took power. Hamad hired a large US law firm to freeze his father's overseas bank accounts, reportedly worth billions. In January 1996 the foreign minister confirmed that cash was held "in the name of the previous emir" and said Khalifa would never rule again. A counter-coup attempt failed in February 1996^†. In August 1996 Qatari authorities had traced about $8 billion in deposits, shares and bonds held by the former emir and were suing in eight countries. On 24 February 1997 the Ministry of Justice announced the dispute had been settled. The terms were not published^†. Khalifa returned to Qatar in 2004 and died on 23 October 2016, aged 84. Hamad handed power to his son Tamim in 2013 and died on 12 July 2026, aged 74.