If you could live anywhere, where would you go? For a record number of entrepreneurs, investors and builders, the answer is increasingly the UAE.
Recent estimates point to a striking global shift: this year, about 142,000 millionaires are expected to relocate worldwide – about 16 per cent more than last year. The headline within the headline is the UAE. With a net gain of roughly 9,800 high-net-worth individuals, the country is projected to top the global league tables, ahead of traditional favourites like the US, Canada, Singapore and others. That is not just a statistic; it is a signal – an index of confidence.
Put another way, an estimated $63 billion in new, investable wealth is choosing to plant a flag in the UAE, while traditional powerhouses such as the UK face a historic outflow.
It is tempting to read this as a tale of private jets and lower taxes. That would miss the point. The movers are not looking for a hideaway; they are looking for a launchpad. They are bringing capital, yes – but also operating experience, global networks and an appetite for the next thing. They vote with their feet for places that feel built for the future: connected, safe and pro-enterprise in a way that is predictable rather than performative.
This “great wealth migration” carries a practical, local meaning. Capital inflows do not sit idle: they back funds, endow venture studios and capitalise new companies. Boardrooms gain directors with cross-border judgment. Mentorship proliferates. Job creation rises where capital meets operating know-how – especially in services, technology, creative industries, advanced logistics and finance. Knowledge diffuses: hiring managers learn new standards, young founders glean shortcuts and local firms find partners who can open doors well beyond the region. For the UAE’s diversification story, this is the strongest endorsement imaginable because it is voluntary and market-revealed.
There is also a quieter layer to this migration: a cultural vote. People with options are choosing a society that blends stability and tolerance, where world-class infrastructure sits next to a service culture that works, and where public policy signals are clear. In an era in which many economies wrestle with political volatility, bureaucratic drag or policy whiplash, the UAE’s consistency is not just comfortable – it is investable.
So what does this mean for the person reading this – an employee, a founder, a policymaker, a manager? It means the opportunity is not abstract. It will show up in your inbox, your hiring pipeline, your board invites, your classroom projects, your neighbourhood. It will arrive in the form of a new fund deciding where to place a regional headquarters; a family office experimenting with climate tech; an operator who has taken three companies public and now wants to back 10 Emirati founders, or simply, more clients to your new restaurant.
The right question is not whether this is good news – it plainly is – but how a country already built on momentum might use this moment. Without prescribing or instructing, consider a few possibilities.
What if every newly arrived operator had a true concierge on-ramp – a 30-day path that maps permits, regulatory sandboxes, key partners and a shortlist of pilot sites – so market entry happens in days, not quarters?
The right question is not whether this is good news – it plainly is – but how a country already built on momentum might use this moment
What if free zones curated boardroom bridges that pair these arrivals with Emirati scale-ups for a year – no lectures, just time in the trenches – so know-how transfers faster than capital, and local teams learn pricing, procurement and playbooks that took others a decade?
What if our universities launched a rolling Knowledge Residency – each quarter a cohort of incoming builders co-teaches one masterclass, co-supervises one applied project tied to a real company problem and co-designs one internship pathway that outlives their visit? And while in universities, what if there were an Endowed Discovery to Deployment Fund that channels some of this private wealth into endowed chairs, translational labs and commercialisation teams.
These are not imaginary scenarios; they are taking place now and need to be boosted. The UAE is becoming the region’s Scale-Up and Growth Nation – with “soft-landing corridors” into India, Africa and Central Asia – so companies headquartered here treat the UAE as the take-off point for emerging-market expansion: regulatory briefings on Monday, distributor meetings on Wednesday, first shipment confirmed by month-end?
The world is not just sending capital; it is sending capability. And capability compounds. That is why this moment feels larger than a trendline on a wealth report. It is an evolving chapter in a story that the UAE has been writing for decades: open the door, raise the standard and let results speak. The movers are not coming to retire. They are coming to build. The rest of us – citizens, residents and the next generation – will decide what that build looks like, and how widely its benefits are shared.
This makes the country not only richer, but richer in possibilities.
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How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
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Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
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Ian Rush 346
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PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
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Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
