Top cities for millionaires in ME: Dubai, Istanbul dominate

Dubai along with Istanbul are the top cities in the Middle East, where people with deep pockets reside.

According to a new report, ‘The 2014 Middle East Wealth Report’, published by New World Wealth, there 48,000 high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in Istanbul and 42,000 in Dubai, making them the top two regional destinations for millionaires.

Globally too, Dubai scores well when it comes to being home to the rich. A Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census of 2014 shows that with 34 ultra-rich, Dubai is at the eighth slot in the ranking of cities with maximum number of billionaires.

This survey had put New York at No. 1 with 103 billionaires; Moscow at No. 2 with 85 such rich individuals, followed by Hong Kong (82), London (72) and Beijing (37).

On the regional front, New World Wealth puts Doha at after the Turkish capital and Dubai. The city is home to 27,000 HNWIs followed by Kuwait City with 25,000 millionaires; Riyadh with 24,000 well-heeled and Abu Dhabi at with 15,000 rich people. Tehran follows with 14,000 and Beirut is home to 9,000 ultra-rich, according to the report.

The statistics show that there are approximately 460,000 HNWIs living in Middle East (as of December 2014), with combined wealth holdings of $2.2 trillion. This equates to 48 per cent of total wealth held in the region ($4.6 trillion).

The report also highlights that the number of rich has gone up substantially with an increase of 136 per cent since 2000, compared to the worldwide HNWI growth rate of 73 per cent over the same period (2000-2014), making it quite a commendable feat.

While defining the rich, the report takes into account the wealth or net value of assets (assets less liabilities). It includes financial holdings, business interests and tangible assets. The only major asset that is excluded from the valuation is primary residences.

Local HNWIs include all individuals who are living or working in each country, including expats. The Middle East region includes: Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, UAE, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. It excludes North African countries such as Egypt and Central Asian countries such as Pakistan.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.