Old money is staying put and the flow of new wealth to the UAE has not stopped, despite naysayers arguing otherwise, citing war-driven risks and uncertainties.
The Emirates' appeal to the ultra-wealthy remains firm as the benefits, beyond just the lifestyle and security, of relocating to the Arab world’s second-largest economy far outweigh potential risks, wealth managers say.
Close to 10,000 millionaires were estimated to have moved to the UAE in 2025 and thousands more were expected to relocate this year. Many may choose not to do so because of the US-Iran war's impact on the region, but it is not correct to say the conflict has completely reversed the relocation trend, private bankers serving the UAE's uber-rich say.
Global banks such as HSBC and Singapore-headquartered DBS, South-East Asia's biggest lender by assets, are still investing heavily into building their wealth offerings and have not stopped hiring private bankers to better serve their clientele.
Although sentiment does play a part, entrepreneurs, high-net-worth individuals, family offices and institutional wealth have a longer-term view. They look at fundamentals as well as the structural strengths and regulatory make-up of a destination before making a relocation decision.
“In our client conversations, the UAE's appeal remains firmly in view despite the conflict,” says Aladdin Hangari, HSBC's head of global private banking for Middle East and North Africa.
“The reasons people came – stability, safety, a clear tax and residency framework, and world-class connectivity – are structural, not sentiment.”
The conversations that British lender Barclays’ wealth managers are having with their clientele are no different, indicating a strong conviction in the UAE's value proposition.
“Families and entrepreneurs are drawn here because of its economics … regulatory credibility, international outlook and ability to connect regional opportunities with global capital,” Farzad Billimoria, head of Barclays Private Bank in the UAE, says. “Those attributes remain firmly intact.”
While recent events have brought resilience and risk management into focus, they have also reinforced the importance of jurisdictions that offer “stability, clarity and connectivity” rather than diminishing their attractiveness.
“While sentiment can fluctuate in the short term, the factors underpinning the UAE’s appeal remain structural rather than cyclical,” Mr Billimoria says.
Good numbers
Wealthy individuals and family offices as well institutional investors are still arriving in good numbers from Europe and the UK.
Affluent clients in South Asian economies, increasingly from East Asia and even from the wider Gulf region, have also chosen to relocate to the UAE in recent quarters, HSBC says.
“The draw is consistent: stability, personal safety, no personal income tax, strong residency options, and a maturing family-office framework in DIFC and ADGM,” Mr Hangari says. “For many, the UAE is also a bridge to interests across Asia, Europe and Africa.”
The UAE, one of the fastest growing commercial and financial hubs in the Middle East, is a bridge between the fast-developing eastern economies and mature markets in the West.
The seamless connectivity through Abu Dhabi and Dubai's aviation hubs as well as progressive regulatory regimes of the two emirates' respective onshore financial centres – ADGM and DIFC – position the hydrocarbons-rich country at the heart of global trade and commerce.
Government initiatives such as residency permits for retired and remote workers, expansion of the 10-year Golden Visa programme and strong economic growth have also added to the Emirates’ appeal for the affluent.
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Dubai has been named the top city in the world for high net worth individuals in a new report by Savills. Antonie Robertson / The National -
New York came second on the index. Getty Images -
Singapore placed third. AP -
Hong Kong came fourth. Getty Images -
Abu Dhabi came fifth and stands out for its economic competitiveness and connectivity. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Migration hotspot
Before the war broke out on February 28, the UAE was regarded as the migration hotspot for the ultra-wealthy as global millionaires sought to get away from established wealth centres to avoid heavy-handed changes in taxation regimes.
Both Dubai and Abu Dhabi were ranked among the world’s top five destinations for entrepreneurs and high-net-worth investors. Dubai topped the charts with Abu Dhabi in fifth position, according to a survey by global property consultancy Savills. New York was second, Singapore third and Hong Kong fourth on the Savills HNWI Hotspot Index released in November last year. It analysed nearly 100 cities for business environment, family infrastructure and cost, legacy planning, lifestyle and privacy.
A record 9,800 millionaires were estimated to have relocated in 2025 to the UAE amid a shake-up of financial regulations in London and growing scrutiny of the affluent elsewhere, according to the Wealth Migration Report 2025 by advisory Henley & Partners and wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth.
In 2024, Dubai had an estimated population of 81,200 millionaires and 20 billionaires.
Record quarterly growth in property prices in the emirate, especially the steep rise in sales of $10 million-plus uber-luxury residences before the US-Iran war jolted the global economy, was a reflection of the individual, family and institutional wealth the emirate has attracted in the past few years.
Three large beachfront plots on an exclusive Dubai island were sold for an aggregate value of Dh1 billion ($272 million) between April and June this year, signalling that ultra-wealthy investors’ interest remains firm despite the Iran war.
Sticky wealth
While substantial new wealth flows continue despite geopolitical headwinds and extreme volatility in the oil markets, the outflow of capital was also not as significant as some analysts had anticipated during the early days of the conflict.
“I would take the other side of the coin, which is how many people have left … how many families have decided to go back to the UK or to go back to France,” Loic Voide, head of private banking for the Middle East and Africa at DBS Bank, says. “It's not that much.”
HSBC’s Mr Hangari says “established wealth is sticky” and decisions to relocate homes, schooling, businesses or banking relationships are not dictated by short-term shocks.
“If anything, more clients have deepened their ties to the UAE over the past five years,” he says. “What we hear is a decision to stay, and often to expand, and what keeps them is what brought them: a stable, predictable environment, personal safety, and an efficient base.”
Barclays' Mr Billimoria agrees, saying for many of the wealthy individuals as well as affluent families the bank engages with, a presence in the UAE is part of a “broader strategic decision rather than a response to any single market event”.
“Their priorities typically extend beyond investment alone and include business interest, family considerations and intergenerational planning,” he adds.
The breadth of what the UAE offers beyond the mere lifestyle is what makes it attractive for Barclays’ affluent clientele.
“Sophisticated legal frameworks, strong succession laws, long-term residency options and access to global markets provide a strong foundation for individuals looking to build and preserve wealth over time,” Mr Billimoria says. “That combination continues to resonate with UHNWI families residing in the UAE.”
Full-throttled expansion
Whatever the perception may be about the state of wealth flows, private bankers are unconcerned and are wasting no time in expanding the resources they need to handle the growing volume of business.
DBS’s Mr Voide say it is difficult to find the right talent in a competitive market where everyone is looking to build their products amid unbridled wealth creation in the region.
Last September, HSBC, Europe's biggest bank by assets, launched a dedicated wealth centre for affluent clients in Dubai.
The bank is committed to allocating its largest capex for two decades in expanding its wealth business and there is a lot more to come for the UAE as well as the broader region, which have shown “extraordinary resilience through a difficult year”, according to Mr Hangari.
“Safe haven doesn't mean immunity from headlines – it means confidence that your assets, family and business are secure and well-regulated,” he says. “The UAE has a track record for providing exactly that … those are the reasons people stay and put down deeper roots.”
The UAE and the wider region remain one of the most important growth markets for HSBC, and “nothing about the current environment has changed that”, he adds.
JPMorgan Chase, the biggest US bank, is also among lenders looking to build a team of private bankers in the UAE.
Last September, financial advisory group Rothschild & Co said its wealth management business, which manages €38 billion ($44.3 billion) in client assets, was taking over the UAE operations of Liechtensteinische Landesbank.
DBS, which entered the UAE wealth management market with the acquisition of Societe Generale’s private banking franchise in 2014, is also looking to aggressively grow its wealth proposition.
The lender aims to grow its team of private bankers to more than 30 in the next two years from 10 last year, when Mr Voide joined the private banking operation.
“I was hired a year ago to transform the bank here, so that means that we are in a growth phase,” he says. “I will end up this year at around 22, and I know that I will need to hire another 10 next year.”
