American comedian Bill Burr, 57, returned to Abu Dhabi on Saturday night, focusing his ire on his country’s ongoing anti-immigration rhetoric.
Performing at Etihad Arena for the second time – following his 2023 set at the same venue – the comedian took aim at what he called the “racism” and “hypocrisy” embedded in American discourse.
“Every four years, the billionaires in my country figure out how to blame immigrants,” Burr said. “You lose your job, your farm, or you can’t buy a house and they tell you it’s because some guy floated in on a mattress from Cuba.
“We always believe it because it’s a white guy telling it to us. And we think, ‘Oh, white guy – I’m a white guy – same skin, same team'. But it’s not the same team. Not the same team at all.”
Burr then turned to America’s colonialist legacy, to loud cheers from audience during the ongoing Abu Dhabi Comedy Season.
“Racist white people love to say, ‘I don’t have a problem with immigrants – as long as they come here the right way'. Oh yeah? Did we? Those immigrants should leave and come back in wooden ships – and bring some Covid-laced blankets.”
Referencing the administration of Donald Trump, Burr admitted he didn’t fully understand “what’s going on with the leadership of my country right now”, before pivoting to former member of the administration: Elon Musk.
Burr, calling Musk “an immigrant”, questioned why the billionaire’s controversial gesture during this year’s inauguration – which some interpreted as a “Roman salute” – drew so little backlash.
“There was a moment in America where if you did a Caitlyn Jenner joke, you were taking your career into your hands,” Burr said. “Then five years later, this guy – this nerd – salutes not once, but twice. Once to the front, once to the back. People tried to play it off like it was something else and he didn’t get in trouble. What is happening?”
From there, Burr widened his focus to systemic racism and historical erasure, pointing to how the achievements of ancient Egypt are still questioned in Western discourse.
“White people can’t accept that someone could do something they couldn’t,” he said. “If the pyramids had happened in Italy, they wouldn’t be confused. They wouldn’t say, ‘Today we’re going to try to figure out who built the Roman Colosseum. Was it... mermaids?’”
Burr's focus has grown increasingly global in recent years. While he didn't touch on the subject during his set, Burr has been vocal about the Israel-Gaza war in recent months, telling Variety: "We need to come up with a way to solve our differences without dropping bombs on children. I don’t think anybody would have a problem with that. The great thing about travel, if you travel with your ears open, is you see way more similarities than differences."
Earlier in the night, Burr tore into reports of Jeff Bezos’s $38 million wedding to Lauren Sanchez – a recurring topic throughout the set.
“That guy is in so over his head,” Burr said. “He spent $38 million to get married. Dude, you could have gone to Vegas and got that for 69 bucks. You’re giving a starter relationship $38 million? That’s because he’s a nerd. Never had a girlfriend. He didn’t play sports. He was in his apartment playing on computers. He’s not an idiot – he’s just inexperienced.”
Burr returned to the subject repeatedly. “What’s he going to get her for her birthday?” he asked. “He rented a whole city. All of Venice! How did she even ask for that?
“He probably wanted a Harry Potter-themed laser tag thing,” Burr added. “And she’s sitting there with her emotions, looking out the window, saying, ‘I was thinking maybe we could have a destination wedding.’ And he’s like, ‘What do you mean? Like Florida?’”
Burr said even one of the world’s richest men will struggle to meet the expectations such a wedding creates. “He’s going to be hanging out with the truck drivers he doesn’t pay enough, on the Amazon loading docks, saying: ‘I can’t make this woman happy.’”
As the set wrapped, Burr hinted at plans to return again – ideally during cooler weather. “I’ll come back in the winter. That’s when my wife will come. She’ll support me on the road – just not in July."
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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