How to spot a millionaire in Dubai: Just look around (or in a mirror)

Dubai is a city of the rich of famous – and is among the Top 3 cities that have seen their millionaire population swell this year, according to a new report.

The city’s beautiful skyscrapers and magnificent villas, a bustling downtown and pristine shoreline, natural waterfronts and manmade islands – all host thousands of millionaires and billionaires among them.

In fact, a quick look at the stats reveal that, when in Dubai, you don’t have to strain your eyes to spot a millionaire – they are everywhere you look around. There is a good chance that you – yes, you – are one too.

The latest report defines ‘millionaires’ as individuals with net assets of $1 million (Dh3.673m) or more, excluding their primary residences.

In 2015, Dubai saw a total of 2,000 dollar millionaires added to its already-strong millionaire population of 40,000, according to the Millionaire Migration 2015 report by New World Wealth.

This works out to an average of 11 millionaires added to the city’s burgeoning wealthy population every other day of every week of every month last year.

No wonder Dubai features among the Top 3 cities that saw their millionaire population swell the most last year.

“Dubai saw strong inflows from North Africa (Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco) and Turkey,” the report elaborates.

Last year’s inflow of 2,000 millionaires brought the total millionaire population in Dubai to 42,000.

According to Dubai Statistics Centre, the emirate has a population of just a little under 2.5 million, with an average household size of 4.2 individuals.

A back-of-the-envelope calculation, then, suggests that one in every 14 Dubai households hosts a dollar millionaire in the family.

= Dubai’s Million Property Millionaires =

Dubai real estate is among the most exclusive worldwide, and including primary residences would perhaps bring about a radical increase in the number of millionaires in the city.

Dubai and Monaco are among the top 15 global cities with lowest property tax costs, and London remained the most important city to the world's wealthy, according to a report by Knight Frank.

In its prediction for 2016, the UK-based consultancy expected Sydney to outperform the world’s top global cities in 2016.

A report last year revealed that Dubai’s property prices are creating more, younger millionaires. ‘The United Arab Emirates 2014 Wealth Report’ showed that 7 out of 10 members of the UAE’s ultra-rich club reside in Dubai, which is home to 68 per cent the UAE’s multi-millionaires.

The report showed that the number of people getting richer in the UAE has gone up considerably in the past seven years even as the average age of a UAE millionaire is less than the global average.

Read: Dubai property prices creating more, younger millionaires

= UAE, A country of billionaires =

Last month, a Forbes ranking of the richest people in the world showed that the UAE has 12 billionaires among its residents with a combined net worth of more than Dh127 billion.

Read: Record UAE tycoons in world's top billionaires

In November 2015, Emirates 24|7 published a report that showed that the UAE hosts the second wealthiest population in the Middle East, trailing GCC peer Qatar.

The ranking, by New World Wealth, listed the wealthiest countries in the world ranked by total individual wealth held. The study also looks into the highest per capita wealth in the world.

In the Middle East, Qatar came on top of the list with the highest per capita wealth ($108,290) followed by the UAE with $76,470 in wealth.

Read: Revealed: Countries with richest individuals

= Global Millionaire Migration =

Two Australian cities top New World Wealth’s latest ‘Millionaire Migration’ list, with an additional 4,000 millionaires added to Sydney and 3,000 more millionaires calling Melbourne their home in 2015.

In fact, there are three Australian cities among the Top 10, with Perth featuring at No. 10. “Sydney, Melbourne and Perth all benefitted from millionaire inflows from China, Europe, the UK, US and South Africa,” the report states.

“Other Australian areas such as the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Noosa and the Sunshine Coast also experienced inflows,” it adds.

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