Surveys
Dubai Crowned UAE Billionaire Capital, Bolstered By Indian Wealth
Dubai has the highest number of billionaires of the United Arab Emirates, bolstered by an influx of ultra rich Indian entrepreneurs, according to a new report.
Dubai has the highest
number of billionaires of the United Arab Emirates, bolstered by
an influx
of ultra rich Indian entrepreneurs, according to a new report.
With 14 billionaires, Dubai is home to the
highest concentration of billionaires in the Middle East. It
ranks
18th globally out of the ranking of the 25 most billionaire-heavy
countries, compiled by intelligence firm
WealthInsight.
In the last five years, the average
per-capita wealth of billionaires living in the UAE has dropped
by a tenth,
though the number of billionaires has doubled, according to
London-based WealthInsight, which surveyed 1,340 billionaires.
"As expected, the UAE
has a number of foreign national billionaires in the country,
coming from
countries including Bahrain, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and
Saudi
Arabia," said Stephen Gross, a senior analyst at WealthInsight,
in the report.
But he added that Dubai's position might be "undermined" by
Singapore, which jumped to 19th
spot to become the UAE’s biggest competitor.
"In terms of
competition with Dubai, it has more to do with the Indian
business," said Gross, cited by Dubai daily The
National.
"There's a lot of Indians who are not residents in India, and
those are
the ones that Dubai and Singapore are both competing for."
Both Dubai and Singapore are seen as a haven for billionaires
seeking refuge from hefty tax bills, particularly as scrutiny
on
private banking accounts in Switzerland heats up. Singapore is
expected to benefit from the influx of billionaires from China,
which has five cities in
the top 25, including Shanghai in 8th spot.
The Top 25 cities by number of billionaires (Source: WealthInsight’s HNWI Database):
1.New York
2. Moscow
3. London
4. Hong Kong
5. Mumbai
6. Istanbul
7. San Francisco
8. Shanghai
9. Paris
10. Beijing
11. Chicago
12. Shenzhen
13. Los Angeles
14. Houston
15. Dallas – Fort Worth
16. Tokyo
17. Guangzhou
18. Dubai
19. Singapore
20. Jeddah
21. Sao Paulo
22. Taipei
23. Amsterdam
24. Riyadh
25. Hangzhou