New World Wealth’s annual report is published today, and for the first time ranks Dubai was among the world’s top 15 cities where more than 1,000 high net worth individuals (HNWIs) migrated to in 2017.
Dubai, ranked at number 14 in the worldwide listing, is the only city from the Middle East to feature on the list. The report also rated the UAE, which is formed of seven emirates, among the safest country in the Middle East region.
Led by Dubai, the UAE continued to draw high net worth individuals (HNWIs), generally defined as those holding total assets of $1m or more, in 2017. More than 5,000 HNWIs, mainly from India, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria chose to adopt the emirate as their second home.
The report estimates the total wealth held by private individuals in the UAE to be $925bn.
Anita Yadav, head of fixed income research at Emirates NBD Research, told the Kaleej Times that much of the earnings of HNWIs come from business or investment income: “There are also some senior level executive, particularly in banking and finance and oil and gas who command substantial employment income,” she said.
She said the wealth of the UAE-based HNWIs is mainly invested in their own businesses.
“Dubai has a high number of small and medium businesses involved in retail and wholesale trade. Real estate is another asset class which is attractive to HNWIs. Lately, investment in financial products and commodities is also on the rise. In order to seek diversification, a noticeable segment of the HNWIs wealth is invested in overseas assets.”
Dubai’s ease of doing business, relatively liberal lifestyle and its safe location in an otherwise volatile region all combine to make the emirate an attractive one for business people to choose when looking to relocate.
