According to a recent report, the wealth of UAE billionaires surged by $30 billion (Dh110 billion), marking a 21.6% increase in 2025, totaling over Dh600 billion due to robust macroeconomic growth.
The Billionaire Ambitions Report by Swiss bank UBS indicated that UAE billionaires’ wealth rose from $138.7 billion (Dh509 billion) in 2024 to $168.7 billion (Dh619 billion) in 2025.
In 2025, the UAE added two billionaires while one left, bringing the total number to 19.
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Among the Middle East and Africa, UAE billionaires are the wealthiest, surpassing peers in Israel ($108.1 billion), Saudi Arabia ($81 billion), Nigeria ($37.3 billion), South Africa ($36 billion), Egypt ($17.2 billion), and Lebanon ($6.2 billion).
Recently, British billionaire Lakshmi Mittal relocated to the UAE due to high taxes in Europe and favorable business policies in the Emirates.
The 2025 Private Wealth Migration Report by Henley & Partners projects the UAE to attract around 9,800 millionaires, bringing in approximately $63 billion in capital.
Saudi billionaires’ wealth more than doubled to $81 billion.
Transfer of Wealth
In the Middle East and Africa, UBS estimates heirs will inherit at least $152.7 billion (Dh560.4 billion), with significant transfers in Israel, the UAE, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia.
In the UAE, about $31.9 billion (Dh117 billion) in assets will be transferred over the next 15 years, the second-highest after Israel’s $48.4 billion.
Niels Zilkens, head of wealth management Middle East at UBS GWM, noted the significant growth in UAE billionaires’ wealth reflects entrepreneurship and a rising wealth transfer to new generations.
“Future heirs in the region will inherit around $153 billion over the next 15 years, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia leading. These trends highlight the region’s growing impact on global wealth and the importance of strategies to preserve and expand family legacies,” Zilkens stated.
Benjamin Cavalli, head of strategic clients and global connectivity at UBS Global Wealth Management, observed that as wealth transfer accelerates, the focus shifts from preservation to empowering the next generation to succeed independently.
“This shift affects succession planning, philanthropic goals, and long-term investments,” he noted.
“The billionaire community is increasingly diverse, mobile, and forward-thinking. The combination of entrepreneurial spirit and the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history presents new opportunities and challenges for families and wealth managers,” Cavalli added.
