Abu Dhabi developer Aldar has sold an eight-bedroom ultra-luxury mansion for Dh400 million ($109 million), which it claimed was the most expensive home ever sold in the UAE capital.
Within beachfront project Faya Al Saadiyat, the mansion offers the largest allocation of space, spanning 6,561 square metres on Saadiyat Island, Aldar said in a statement on Thursday.
Its amenities include a private car gallery, a golf simulator and an in-house cinema, as well as wellness and fitness suites. It also offers direct access to a beach.
The sale comes amid robust growth in Abu Dhabi’s luxury real estate market, driven by rising demand from high-net-worth individuals, long-term residents and international investors, the company said.
"Saadiyat Island continues to attract homebuyers and investors from around the world," said Jonathan Emery, chief executive at Aldar Development.
"This sustained momentum reflects the success of Abu Dhabi’s long-term vision, enabled by progressive government policies, long-term residency initiatives and strategic investment in infrastructure, culture, and entertainment.”
Millionaire investors are increasingly looking towards Abu Dhabi property. The UAE capital is home to the highest number of luxury properties on sale in the country, with 352 homes for sale valued above $1 million, a recent report by real estate developer Bloom Holding found.
The highest property price growth in the country between 2020 and 2025 was in Abu Dhabi, with growth of 202 per cent, and 8,490 properties on sale increasing in value, the report found.
Low taxes and substantial sovereign wealth, along with high living standards, were listed as significant factors in attracting ultra-high-net-worth individuals to Abu Dhabi for long-term property investments.
Abu Dhabi's population has also increased from 2.7 million in 2014 to more than 4.1 million in 2024.
In the first three months of 2025, total real estate transactions in Abu Dhabi grew by 34.5 per cent annually, climbing to Dh25.3 billion, according to the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (Adrec). The number of property deals during the period also increased more than 19 per cent to 6,896.
Adrec is focused on "upholding strong governance and regulatory oversight" of the sector, said Ghazi Al Otaibi, executive director of the real estate transactions sector at Adrec. "Transactions of this scale reflect the strength of a maturing market and the effectiveness of a regulatory framework we’ve put in place designed to support and attract responsible, high-value investment.”
The latest sale follows the Dh137 million sale of Aldar’s Nobu Residences Abu Dhabi penthouse on Saadiyat Island in March last year.
Aldar said it recorded Dh5 billion in sales on Saadiyat Island in the first half of this year. Foreign residents accounted for 86 per cent of buyers, including 46 per cent residents and 40 per cent non-residents. The buyers were mainly nationals of Russia, France, the UK, China and the US.
Faya Al Saadiyat is an exclusive luxury gated community with 21 homes, including two eight-bedroom mansions and 19 six to seven-bedroom villas, scheduled for completion in 2028. It is being designed by 1508 London Interior Design Studio and Nordic Office Architects.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Total eligible population
About 57.5 million people
51.1 million received a jab
6.4 million have not
Where are the unvaccinated?
England 11%
Scotland 9%
Wales 10%
Northern Ireland 14%
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UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
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The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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GROUP RESULTS
Group A
Results
Ireland beat UAE by 226 runs
West Indies beat Netherlands by 54 runs
Group B
Results
Zimbabwe tied with Scotland
Nepal beat Hong Kong by five wickets
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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