UAE retains position as world's top wealth magnet for third year

A record 6,700 millionaires are expected to call the UAE their new home by the end of this year, a survey by international investment migration advisory firm Henley & Partners has found.

The luxury lifestyle, golden visas and low tax environment that the UAE offers have helped to enshrine its place as the world's wealth magnet for the third year running.

The country is poised to attract nearly twice as many millionaires as its nearest rival, the US, which is forecast to see 3,800 millionaires settle there by the end of 2024.

Henley & Partners' Private Wealth Migration Report 2024 places Singapore in third place, with net inflows of 3,500, while Canada and Australia take fourth and fifth places respectively.

The report into where the world’s super-rich are choosing to migrate to and invest "clearly shows the rise and rise of Dubai and the popularity of locations such as Italy, Switzerland and Greece", according to Rosy Khalastchy, director at the high-end property company, Beauchamp Estates.

"The migration of wealthy African families, out of places such as Nigeria and South Africa, looking at homes in Dubai and London, has also been significant," she told The National.

"Cities like London, Manhattan, Paris and Berlin have grown over 200 years. In contrast, Dubai has seen the same level of growth in just 20 years. The pace of development has been remarkable," she added.

The continued clinching of the 'wealth magnet crown' by the UAE is befitting for Peter Wetherell, the founder and executive chairman of Wetherell, a prime London estate agent based in upmarket Mayfair, which has seen a rise in clients wanting to buy luxury homes in Dubai.

"Now many of our wealthy clients look at just five key locations for owning luxury homes: Dubai, London, Mumbai, the South of France and either Los Angeles or Miami," he told The National.

"Whereas a client might have historically looked at a pied-a-terre in Paris, this has now been replaced by owning a holiday home in Dubai."

'Voting with their feet'

A villa on Jumeirah Bay Island, where Cristiano Ronaldo recently purchased a property. The luxury lifestyle of the UAE is very attractive to millionaire movers. Antonie Robertson / The National

Global wealth is on the move like never before according to Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners.

“An unprecedented 128,000 millionaires are expected to relocate worldwide this year, eclipsing the previous record of 120,000 set in 2023," he said.

"As the world grapples with a perfect storm of geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, and social upheaval, millionaires are voting with their feet in record numbers.

"In many respects, this great millionaire migration is a leading indicator, signalling a profound shift in the global landscape and the tectonic plates of wealth and power, with far-reaching implications for the future trajectory of the nations they leave behind or those which they make their new home.”

Winners and losers

However, wealth migration is a zero-sum game and where there are winners there are also losers.

The report showed China taking the top slot on the number of millionaires migrating out of a country, with 15,200 predicted to leave this year, up from 123,800 in 2023.

Meanwhile, the UK has moved into second place on the losers chart, with 9,500 millionaires expected to leave the country this year, more than double the 4,200 that left last year.

The millionaire migration from the UK came as little surprise to Dr Hannah White, the chief executive of the independent think tank the Institute for Government in London, who blamed low economic growth and a certain amount of political instability in recent years, coupled with the uncertainty over the tax status of the so-called non-doms and the prospect of VAT being applied to private school fees.

“The outflow already generated by the economic and political turmoil in Britain risks being accelerated by further unwelcome policy decisions ahead of the election," she said.

"On top of the 40 per cent duty already imposed on estates above a £325,000 threshold, the Conservative government has adopted the thrust of the Labour opposition’s policy of ending the UK’s non-dom tax regime from 2025.

"And for those educating their children in the UK’s well-regarded private school sector, Labour’s commitment to remove their exemption from 20 per cent VAT is a further unwelcome development.”

India's millionaire losses are predicted to come in at 4,300 this year, while South Korea is expected to lose 1,200 High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) in 2024, a rise from 800 in 2023.

Wealth-attracting countries see benefits far beyond the purchase of expensive properties and spending in high-end local shops, according to Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth.

“Migrating millionaires are a vital source of forex revenue as they tend to bring their money with them when they move to a country," he said.

"Also, around 20 per cent of them are entrepreneurs and company founders who may start new businesses and therefore create local jobs in their new country, and this percentage rises to over 60 per cent for centi-millionaires and billionaires.”

Of all the local amenity options offered in Dubai, parks (85 per cent) were an overwhelming favourite among high-net-worth individuals. EPA

The desire to be near a park was highest among East Asians, at 95 per cent, while Saudis considered it the most important factor. EPA

Jumeirah Bay Island is one of three prime residential neighbourhoods in Dubai

Dubai's prime residential neighbourhoods – the Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills; and Jumeirah Bay Island – dominate luxury home sales. Reuters

More neighbourhoods in Dubai are likely to be classed as prime if they continue to achieve multimillion-dollar sales figures. AP

Reports finds that the super-rich would rather buy a property they can take possession of immediately than a project that will be ready some time in the future. AFP