The number of billionaires in the UAE rose to 46 from 37; but 38 per cent of the billionaires living in the emirate were born outside the UAE, according to the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire. The number of billionaires in the UAE rose to 46 in 2014 from 37 as their combined wealth surged to $132 billion from $45 billion last year, recording a phenomenal increase of 193 per cent, a new survey shows.
With a total of 34 UHNW (ultra high net worth individuals), Dubai has emerged as the billionaire capital of the Middle East, while New York reinforced its position as the global billionaire capital with 103 super rich people as its residents.
Dubai also ranked as the world’s eighth city in terms of the billionaire population, but 38 per cent of the billionaires living in the emirate were born outside the UAE, according to the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire.
In the Middle East region, the billionaire population shrank by 1.9 per cent as globally 155 new billionaires joined the billionaires group in 2014 pushing the world super rich population to 2,325, up seven per cent from 2013.
Although Middle East billionaire population dropped, total billionaire wealth in the region increased by 16.7 per cent, according to the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014.
Saudi Arabia saw a decline of 18.6 per cent in its billionaire wealth, down to $166 billion in 2014, as against $204 billion in 2013.
The combined wealth of all billionaires on the planet increased by 12 per cent to $7.3 trillion, higher than the total market capitalisation of all the companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The US maintains its position as the world’s top billionaire country with a population of 571 billionaires in 2014, followed by China (190) and the UK (130), which took the third spot from Germany (123) on the Top 40 Billionaire Countries/Territories list.
Europe is home to more than a third of the world’s billionaire population. Europe with 775 billionaires is the region with the most billionaires earning wealth of $2.37 trillion. In 2013, North America was the region with the most billionaire wealth.
Asia shows the largest billionaire wealth increase with the billionaires wealth growing by 18.7 per cent over 2013. Billionaire population in Asia grew by 10 per cent in 2014 with 52 new entrants into the billionaire club, out of which 33 are from China.
India has retained its sixth position in terms of number of billionaires with 100 such people collectively having $175 billion in net worth.
Interestingly, India has more number of billionaires than Switzerland, Hong Kong and France among others. Moreover, the country’s financial capital Mumbai, with 28 billionaires is among the top 20 ‘billionaire cities’ globally, which was topped by New York which is home to 103 billionaires.
The average age of today’s billionaire is 63. In addition to that, it was discovered that it takes an average of at least 45 years to turn into an UHNW individual, even with 20 per cent of wealth is being inherited today.
The good news is that you do not need to go to university in order to become super rich. About 35 per cent of today’s billionaires do not have a university degree. Also, almost 50 per cent of them hold their wealth in their ownership of privately held businesses.
The study also predicts that by 2020 the world’s billionaire population will top 3,800.
You can find profiles of some high profile millionaires and billionaires working in corporate over here.
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