The number of millionaires living in Dubai has doubled in the past decade, making it one of the world’s fastest growing wealth hubs, a new report shows.
The World’s Wealthiest Cities Report 2025, conducted by New World Wealth for Henley & Partners, also shows a shake-up of the traditional order, with millionaires leaving London in their thousands.
Their departure comes alongside changes to the tax status of non-doms – people who live in Britain but whose permanent home for tax purposes is outside the UK. Under the old rules, non-doms were liable to pay tax on money they made in the UK, but could live in the country without subjecting their overseas income to British tax rates.
According to the latest data, published on Wednesday, which is for 2024 and in US dollars, Dubai now has 81,200 millionaires, 237 centimillionaires, whose wealth is in the hundreds of millions, and 20 billionaires. The previous year, there were 72,500 millionaires, 212 centi-millionaires and 15 billionaires.
In the past decade there has been a 102 per cent increase in the number of millionaires in Dubai. Only the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Hangzhou have seen higher growth, of 142 per cent and 108 per cent respectively.
The UAE attracts more migrating millionaires than any other country, according to previous data from Henley & Partners, an investment migration advisory firm. Almost twice as many millionaires moved to Dubai than to the next most popular country, the United States.
Andrew Amoils, the head of research at New World Wealth, said a number of factors make Dubai an increasingly attractive destination for the wealthy. “It’s very safe and it has a highly diversified economy, so it appeals to all sorts of entrepreneurs,” he told The National. “It's a good place to start a business and it's a good place for investors to be based.”
Mr Amoils said the UAE's “most competitive tax rates in the world, with no capital gains tax and no income tax” encourage business formation and also appeal to wealthy retirees. As well as the UAE's financial attractions, a “first-class healthcare system”, Emirates airlines serving vital financial centres, good schools and year-round leisure activities are also powerful draws for the world’s wealthy, Mr Amoils explained.
“There is a very strong link with Europe and the UAE, and I don't really see that breaking apart any time soon,” he said.
The report also shows that 11,300 fewer millionaires were living in London in 2024 than in the previous year. Over the past decade there has been fall of 12 per cent, and of the world’s 50 wealthiest cities only Moscow, with a decrease of 25 per cent, has lost more.
Sam Bidwell, the director of research and education at the Adam Smith Institute, says there are a number of reasons why millionaires are leaving the UK. “High tax rates, a challenging business environment and declining public safety are all contributing factors,” Mr Bidwell has written in The National. “For many millionaires, the government’s decision to abolish the non-domiciled tax regime last year will have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, pushing them to finally relocate.
“In an increasingly competitive world, the success or failure of international cities will largely depend on their ability to attract high-quality people,” he said. “While London and the UK are driving away wealth through excessive taxation, Dubai is taking the opposite path. Don’t be surprised to see more British individuals – and more British businesses – setting up shop on the shores of the Creek in the years to come.”
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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.”
Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
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Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
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Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
