The super-rich are flocking to Dubai in record numbers as geopolitical and economic uncertainties around the world drive affluent individuals and families to seek safe havens both for their wealth and their well-being.

According to experts who track the world’s wealthiest, Dubai’s appeal lies not only in its stability but also its pro-business environment, world-class lifestyle attractions, luxury real estate, and progressive policy changes that smooth the path to longer-term residency.

Saudi Arabia has most billionaires in Middle East, Dubai top city with 38.

Dubai is now home to 210 centi-millionaires (individuals with a net worth exceeding $100 million) and 15 billionaires, according to Henley & Partners, a firm that specializes in global residence and citizenship planning. Forecasts show the city is well-positioned to further cement its status.

The firm reported in their 2023 Centi-Millionaire Report that Dubai is projected to see its centi-millionaire population surge by a whopping 78 percent over the next decade – the fastest rate worldwide.

Philippe Amarante, Managing Partner of Henley & Partners who also heads the firm’s Dubai and Pakistan offices, attributes the city’s magnetism to “wealth created in both less developed and more developed markets” seeking safer harbors amid geopolitical instability and tax concerns in places like Europe and bipartisan policy debates in the United States surrounding taxes. For these global elites, “optionality is key” to preserving wealth.

At the same time, said Amarante, Dubai deploys an impactful “superbrand” narrative that emphasizes safety, ease of entry and business, world-class lifestyle perks spanning education all the way through to real estate, and a strategic global business hub positioning – particularly compared to rival destinations like Singapore with a stronger Asian focus. Dubai also gained attention for keeping its borders open during the pandemic lockdowns, projecting an “open for business” message that contrasted other locations.

This strategy has paid dividends, as Amarante observes the “avalanche effect” of early centi-millionaire arrivals snowballing larger migration waves through wealthier social networks gravitating toward each other. “These people like to be surrounded by themselves.”

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