But now, with the Plaza up for grabs, another royal has quietly emerged as a force who could shape the hotel’s future. And that would be Sheikh Hamadbin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, one of the most influential figures in Qatar.

Al Thani, it turns out, acquired the mortgage on the Plaza, the Beaux-Artslandmark on the southern fringe of Central Park. That could give him anedge as the fraught sale of the Manhattan property heats up. Alwaleed, whowas put under house arrest in a sweeping crackdown in Saudi Arabia,recently sold half of his 25 percent in the Plaza to real estate developer BenAshkenazy. Al Thani happens to be a silent lender to Ashkenazy, who hasbeen eyeing an even bigger stake as embattled owner Subrata Roy puts hisinterest on the market.

“These types of trophy hotel assets are one thing that some of these global billionaires like to collect,” said Dan Fasulo, director of Yardi Systems, which provides software and data for the commercial real estate industry. “It’s really a vanity asset to have in their portfolio.” […]