UAE home to 59 billionaires with combined wealth of $201 billion

The UAE иусфьу home to 59 billionaires with a combined fortune of $201 billion in 2025, placing the country among the world’s top 15 billionaire markets, according to Altrata’s Billionaire Census 2026.

The number of billionaires in the UAE fell 1.9 per cent year on year, while their combined wealth remained at $201 billion. The country ranked 14th globally by billionaire population, behind Saudi Arabia, which had 68 billionaires with a combined fortune of $175 billion.

UAE-based billionaires accounted for about 1.4 per cent of the world’s 3,795 billionaires, while their combined wealth represented around 1.3 per cent of the global billionaire fortune of $15.1 trillion.

Dubai ranks among the world’s top billionaire cities

Dubai was among the world’s leading cities for billionaire residents, ranking joint eighth with Shenzhen. The emirate was home to 43 billionaires in 2025, two more than a year earlier.

It ranked behind New York, Hong Kong, San Francisco, London, Singapore, Los Angeles and Beijing.

Altrata said the global distribution of billionaires is increasingly influenced by the internationalisation of business, technology and capital. Major cities continue to attract high-net-worth individuals due to their entrepreneurial networks, financial infrastructure and luxury lifestyle offerings.

Dubai was highlighted alongside Istanbul as an emerging global wealth centre, reflecting the growing importance of major Asian and developing-market hubs.

Diversification supports wealth creation

The UAE’s position comes as billionaire wealth across the Middle East undergoes a broader transformation. The region’s billionaire population increased 5 per cent to 254 individuals in 2025, with Altrata identifying economic diversification and large-scale sovereign infrastructure programmes as key drivers of capital inflows and wealth creation, particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

At the same time, total billionaire wealth in the Middle East declined 4 per cent to $700 billion, partly due to weaker energy prices and underperforming regional equity markets. Oil prices ended 2025 almost 20 per cent lower, marking their largest annual decline since 2020.

Globally, the billionaire population rose 8.2 per cent to a record 3,795, while their combined wealth increased 12.8 per cent to $15.1 trillion.

The US remained the world’s largest billionaire market, with 1,265 billionaires, followed by China with 363 and Germany with 221. Together, the 15 largest billionaire markets accounted for 83 per cent of global billionaire wealth.

AI emerges as a major wealth driver

Artificial intelligence is also becoming an increasingly important factor behind the growth of billionaire fortunes. According to Altrata, among 150 listed companies that contribute most to billionaire wealth, those that made significant investments in AI recorded 23 per cent higher market-capitalisation growth than companies that did not over the combined 2024–2025 period.

Wealth is also becoming increasingly concentrated among the world’s richest individuals. The 29 billionaires with fortunes exceeding $50 billion held a combined $4.1 trillion in 2025, equivalent to 27 per cent of all billionaire wealth, compared with 7.2 per cent in 2017.

Altrata notes that billionaire wealth is typically tied to company ownership rather than cash. Around 73 per cent of the average billionaire portfolio is invested in stakes in publicly listed or privately held companies, while liquid assets account for roughly a quarter.

The report also highlights the increasingly global nature of wealth: one in five billionaires was born outside the country where they currently live and where their primary business is based.