Middle East

Number of Ultra-Wealthy in GCC expected to grow by 26%

A 26% growth in the number of ultra-HNWIs in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) over the course of the next 5 years, thus reaching a number of over 9,100, according to a report by Knight Frank.

Taimur Khan, Associate Partner, Knight Frank Middle East, said “The rate of wealth creation in the GCC region is expected to remain strong. Over the next five years we expect the number of HNWIs (USD1m+) to increase by 12 percent on average and UHNWIs (USD30m+) by over 26 percent over the same period.”

Saudi Arabia will host 57% of these ultra-HNWIs, according to an article written by Gerard Aoun at Zawya. 23% of these ultra-HNWIs during this same period will be located in the UAE.

The Middle East is currently home to 16,581 ultra-HNWIs, according to the report, which represents a 41% increase from the number in 2014.

The number of ultra-wealthy people around the world is predicted to grow by 27 percent in the next five years to 2024, which according to the Knight Frank report will take the ultra-HNWIs population to just under 650,000.

In 2019, 31,00 new ultra-HNWIs were created, equating to a 6.4% increase. North America, home to an additional 13,911, dominates with more than double the ultra-HNWI population of Europe in 2019 at 4,682.

In Asia, the growth in ultra-HNWIs greatly outpaced that in Europe, with a further 11,788 ultra-HNWIs created in the region in 2019.

Liam Bailey, Global Head of Research, Knight Frank, said “It’s exciting to see how wealth is developing across Asia and, with the number of ultra-wealthy in India, Vietnam, China and Malaysia outpacing many other markets over the next five years, it will be interesting to see how this impacts the global property market.”