World
Qatar is the top foreign funder of American universities according to new data
Cornell University is the top recipient of Doha cash, but the school’s president denies that it has any influence on the institution
January 8, 2026 18:37
Cornell University is the top recipient of Doha cash, but the school’s president denies that it has any influence on the institution
January 8, 2026 18:37Qatar is far and away the top country donating foreign funds to American universities, according to new findings.
The Gulf state, which has been identified by intelligence agencies worldwide as financially supporting terrorist organisations, has provided some $6.6 billion to US universities in total, significantly more than the next leading countries.
According to a recently released data from the US Department of Education, which includes educational institutions’ foreign contracts, Qatar is responsible for providing more than two-thirds of the total foreign funding to Cornell University.
Of the $3 billion in foreign funding received by the Ivy League institution, $2.3 billion came from Qatar, a principal financial supporter of Hamas.
Cornell’s president, Michael Kotlikoff, has strongly denied that Qatar’s funding has any influence on their provision of education.
In an interview from March with Jewish Insider, Kotlikoff said that the “narrative that somehow Qatari funding coming to the university affects the university’s decisions or faculty courses could not be further from the truth.
“Virtually almost all of the money that the Qatar Foundation has listed as going to Cornell is spent in Doha on education in the medical school that Cornell helps Qataris manage.”
Cornell was one of two higher education institutions to have federal funding grants suspended by the Trump administration over alleged civil rights violations on campus.
The Gulf state has provided substantial financial, logistical and political support to Hamas, as well as a base for the terror group’s leadership.
Qatar has also been accused by counter-terrorism experts and independent investigators for providing safe haven to operatives from groups like the Taliban and the Muslim Brotherhood.
According to the data, American universities have in total received more than $60 billion in foreign gifts, contracts and long-term operating agreements over several decades.
Following Qatar, the top countries funding US universities include China, Saudi Arabia, Germany, UK and Canada, with each giving around $4 billion.
Numerous policymakers and analysts have questioned Qatar’s potential influence on academic culture and institutional governance. In April 2025, a White House executive action stated that because Section 117 of the Higher Education Act – which requires colleges to report large foreign gifts and contracts – is not robustly enforced, the true amounts and sources of foreign money is unknown.
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