The amount of wealth, including cash, property and other assets, that UAE residents hold has been on the rise and the country’s combined private wealth now stand at $925 billion (Dh3.4 trillion), according to the latest data.
New World Wealth, a global market research group specialising in wealth statistics, said total household assets in the country jumped by 10 per cent last year and by a whopping 60 per cent over the past decade, between 2007 and 2017.
The Dh3.4 trillion wealth includes all the assets privately held in the country by all people – poor, middle class and millionaires - living in the UAE. It takes into account flats, villas, cars, collectibles, cash, equities, business interests held by individuals. The figure, however, does not include government funds.
Why the UAE’s private wealth is on the rise
The size of UAE households’ holding assets has been growing mainly because millionaires are moving to the country in droves. In 2017 alone, an estimated 5,000 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), those who have net assets of at least $1 million (Dh3.6 million), moved their residence to the UAE.
About the same number of affluent individuals had also transferred to the UAE in 2016.
“We expect wealthy people to continue to move there,” Andrew Amoils, analyst at South Africa- based New World Wealth.
Rich people have been moving and getting new residences around the world, and in 2017 alone, a total of 95,000 millionaires packed their bags and left.
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Among the countries rich individuals have moved to, the UAE has been a top favourite. As of 2017, the country - along with Canada- attracted the third-highest number of migrating millionaires, just behind Australia, which drew in 10,000 HNWIs and United States, which accounted for 9,000 rich migrants.
There were more millionaires moving to the UAE last year than to other wealth hot spots like the Caribbean, Switzerland or Singapore.
Ten countries that attracted the most millionaires in 2017:
- United States: 9,000
- Canada: 5,000
- UAE: 5,000
- Caribbean: 3,000
- Israel: 2,000
- Switzerland: 2,000
- New Zealand: 1,000
- Singapore: 1,000
By Cleofe Maceda
