What UAE billionaires want... and what they fear

They may have the biggest of bank balances and the most outrageous of assets, but at the end, they are just as human as us, with wishes, fears and regrets.

The UAE’s super rich and the rich across the world are not any different from the rest of us. They want to spend more time with their family, see their bonds getting stronger through difficult times and want to plan for their future generations.

A new survey carried out by a Time Inc. and YouGov reveal what exactly do the super-rich people want, what they actually do and, yes, in very human form, what do they fear the most.

To begin with, let’s take a look at what all they want to do. No, it’s not about making more millions and working round-the-clock. Instead, they want a work-life balance, want to spend more time with their loved ones and the percentage of rich who want this and are doing it has increased over last year.

Among the affluent and wealthy consumers, an increasing number of respondents feel passionate about spending quality time with family, they want to see more of the world and more want to simplify their life. This is what makes a fulfilled life and, in the UAE, 68 per cent of the participants feel well-informed about how to live this kind of a life.

Around the globe, majorities in most countries surveyed feel good about their ability to define and create fulfilled lives for themselves and their loved ones, with the sole exception of respondents from Japan.

The number is highest in Germany and China, where 83 per cent respondents believe they are well-informed about living a fulfilled life followed by 82 per cent in Indonesia, 77 per cent in USA and 71 per cent in Spain and Italy. The lowest number is in Japan, at 38 per cent.

“We have a world of individual economies where the affluent and wealthy are giving increased priority to their families and seeking to live a more fulfilled life,” notes Caryn Klein, Vice President, Time Inc. Research & Insights. “The byproduct of this shift is that they are spending more on goods and services that allow them to nurture these relationships and share experiences with family and friends.”

The rich do live in today but also want to plan for future by saving for the future generations. The survey shows this section of society believes in disciplined savings and is fortifying their personal reserves to render themselves invulnerable to forces beyond their control.

The rich in the UAE are in fact one of the most prudent in the world when it comes to saving their income – they save 32 per cent of their income for the future. Only those in China, South Korea, Singapore (all at 33 per cent) and Indonesia (34 per cent) save more than the affluent people in the UAE but that is higher by just a percentage point or so. Those in the UK save the least at 17 per cent.

The rich are also smart shoppers. The survey findings show that today’s invulnerable, affluent consumers are confident in their own ability to research, investigate and negotiate. This is a global phenomenon and an important component of preserving their feelings of invincibility and affirming their resourcefulness and sense of consumer smarts.

 “At the beginning of the Recession, fear drove people to stop spending.  But, in being resourceful, they discovered that they could actually manage the threat of further recession,” explains Dr. Jim Taylor, Vice-Chairman of YouGov.

“As a result, the power of brands as a source of self-identification became severely eroded.  Affluent consumers adopted a strategic approach to shopping that involves research, drawing on their own taste or judgment and – for a segment of consumers – the use of brands as the vanguards of successful shopping.”

These rich are savvy shoppers and do their own research before buying a product, just like many of us. A majority in the UAE (55 per cent) of the rich said in the survey they often use their smartphone or tablet to research prices or other product options online when shopping in stores. The number of such aware, affluent shoppers is highest in China (88 per cent), Indonesia (81 per cent), South Korea (75 per cent) and Singapore (73 per cent). It is the least in the UK at 34 per cent.

A sense of confidence — even pride— is a common thread around the globe among affluent and wealthy consumers who have weathered the Great Recession and remain at the top of their national economies.  A majority of those who identified themselves as affluent and wealthy prior to the downturn say that the Recession has made them more confident in their ability to see their family through tough times.

Within the UAE, 65 per cent of those polled believe they feel more confident in their ability to see their family through tough times. This number is highest in China (77 per cent) and Indonesia (74 per cent) and the least in Japan at 25 per cent.

And the rich do think about those who are financially weaker. On average, across the 12 countries included in the research, 60 per cent are apprehensive about unemployment; and 58 per cent are uneasy about the concentration of wealth among fewer and fewer households.

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