The Benefits of Being an Oil-Rich Country
The Card Players As Alexandra Peers of Vanity Fair recently reported , the small, oil-rich nation of Qatar recently spent $250 million on Cézanne’s The Card Players . While the painting is highly regarded and is thought to be instrumental to the Cubism and abstract movements, the price was a shock to the art community. The purchase of the painting is part of Qatar’s push to become relevant in the tourism industry. They are trying to create some of the best art museums in the world. In 2010, Qatar also won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup . Who did Qatar beat out in the last round of voting to host the tournament? America . That’s right, a country the geographic size of Connecticut with a population the size of Memphis, beat America in a vote to host the most important tournament in the world (you could argue for the Olympics, but realistically the World Cup is more important). Qatar’s recent push on...