World’s Millionaires Are Moving To Dubai For Safety, Luxury And Tax Benefits

Dubai, the richest city in the Middle East and the 29th wealthiest in the world, is seeing an influx of millionaires, according to Zawya. New World Wealth, a research firm that tracks the wealth and the movements of millionaires, has found that multi-millionaires and billionaires globally, Dubai’s population of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), rose by 2,000 to 54,000 in June 2021, up by 3.8% from 52,000 last December.

The number of multi-millionaires, or individuals with fortunes worth at least $10 million, increased to 2,480 from 2,430 over the same period, while the centi-millionaire population, those with wealth of $100 million, expanded to 165, up by 8.5% from 152 at the end of last year. 

“Possible reasons for Dubai’s continued appeal to millionaires [are] safety, healthcare services, luxury shops and restaurants, beaches, tax benefits and a top financial centre,” Andrew Amoils, wealth analyst at New World Wealth, told Zawya. 

Total private wealth held in Dubai rose by $13 billion in less than a year as more than 2,000 HNWIs are believed to have moved to the city during the coronavirus pandemic. As of June 2021, the combined wealth of all Dubai residents with at least $1 million in property, cash, equities and business interests stood at $530 billion, up by 2.5% compared to December 2020, New World Wealth said.  

At least two individuals with wealth of at least $1 billion have also joined the ranks of billionaires in the emirate. 

And with countries such as the US pursuing increasingly more aggressive wealth redistribution policies which seek to punish the wealthy with progressively higher taxes, and forcing them to pay their “fair share” it is only a matter of time before even more millionaires and billionaires flee to places like Dubai.

The research firm also found that the second-wealthiest city in the MEA region this year is Tel Aviv in Israel, which has a combined private wealth of $312 billion.  Johannesburg in Africa came second, with total wealth held estimated to be $235 billion, followed by Istanbul ($180 billion) and Cape Town ($130 billion). 

Globally, New York City topped the list with total wealth held reaching $2.9 trillion as of June 2021, followed by San Francisco Bay area ($2.6 trillion), Tokyo ($2.5 trillion), London $2.3 trillion), Beijing ($2 trillion), Shanghai ($1.8 trillion), Los Angeles ($1.3 trillion), Sydney ($1.1 trillion), Chicago ($1 trillion) and Mumbai ($970 million) – all in the top ten.