UAE tops world in billionaire wealth growth

16/09/2014 12:32 AST

Billionaire wealth in the UAE surged to $132 billion in 2014 from $45 billion last year, marking a worldwide record increase of 193 per cent, a report said.

The number of billionaires in the UAE also increased to 46 from 37 in 2013, added the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014 released by Wealth-X, the definitive source of intelligence on the ultra wealthy.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia saw a decline of 18.6 per cent in its billionaire wealth, down to $166 billion in 2014, as against $204 billion last year, according to the report, which noted that the kingdom claimed the 10th spot globally for its count of 57 billionaires.

The Middle East experienced a decline in its billionaire population over the past year.

Africa is the only other region that saw a decrease in its number of billionaires. This at least partly explains this decline of the Middle East’s billionaire population, as the region is in the midst of signi?cant socio-political difficulties.

Nonetheless, the remaining billionaires, as well as some of the region’s new billionaires, have seen their total wealth increase. Thirty-four per cent of the Middle East’s billionaires have made their wealth through industrial conglomerates. The diversi?cation of these investments was one of the key reasons for the fast growth rate of Middle Eastern billionaires’ total wealth: it allowed them to bene?t from booming markets around the world and across sectors.

Only 6 per cent of the Middle East’s billionaires are female, the smallest share of any other region. This illustrates a gap in the long term potential of the region: more female billionaires can emerge.

However, various socio-cultural barriers are currently preventing growth in this segment of the billionaire population. These types of barriers are common in emerging markets, and illustrate why these regions’ performance is more volatile and mixed than in the more established regions of North America and Europe.

Only 10 per cent of the region’s billionaires fully inherited their wealth. Work, entrepreneurialism and family businesses are the most signi?cant factors behind the growth of the region’s billionaire wealth, the report said.

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