Dubai surpasses New York as the reference city for the world’s elite to live
There is no room more welcoming to big fortunes than Dubai. This is according to a study published by the real estate company Savills, which has classified 30 cities in the world based on their attractiveness for people with a high level of wealth. The Emirate is channeling a large number of wealthy families, who are attracted both by its tax advantages, given that the inheritance, wealth and capital gains tax is non-existent there; as well as for his “solid family infrastructure and security levels”they explain in the study.
“It is the place with the most international schools of all the destinations in our index, by some distance, which has led to long waiting lists as more families settle in this region”, they comment in the document to which ‘Bloomberg’ has had access. Global wealth has recovered from the 2022 slump, with Asia-Pacific the fastest growing region. Last year alone more than 680,000 new billionaires emerged expressed in US dollars, 1.2% further. By 2029, it is expected that the number will increase by five million more people.
The business environment has become a crucial factor in determining where to establish yourself. Dubai and New York They occupy the first two positions in the classification, becoming the reference places for wealthy people thanks to their business-friendly environment, its fiscal advantages and its geopolitical stability. The UAE Golden Visa offers a ten-year, low-tax residence permit in exchange for an investment of two million dirhams (about $544,550)which has convinced the world elite.
Savills highlights in its report this change in trend in which large fortunes have begun to move away from large traditional financial centers towards technological cities. He gives the example of Shenzhen and Bangalore, which are experiencing demographic growth at triple digit among millionaire population segments throughout the last decade. The greater GDP growth in this region has also contributed to reinforcing this trend, benefiting Shanghai, Bangkok and Tokyo.
Inheritance tax is one of the most relevant factors in determining where wealthy people buy homes, causing some cities to languish in the ranking prepared by Savills. Although London occupies first place in terms of conditions related to lifestyle, the British capital has been weighed down by the UK tax system, which has hit demand for luxury housing in the city this year. “Tax changes have had a moderating effect on the attractiveness of London among the older population in contrast to jurisdictions such as those in the Middle East, where it practically does not exist,” the researchers detect.
All of this has resulted in a real estate boom in Dubai, which will soon be joined by one of the richest clans in the city. Sultan Al Ghurair, descendant of the wealthy family that built the Emirate’s first modern shopping center, is creating a promotion company real estate agency to build properties on family land and sell homes before construction. Its first foray into the sector will be a luxury tower designed by a Japanese architect.
The Al Ghurair group controls a vast real estate empire spanning thousands of homes, offices, shopping centers, warehouses and hotelsand its patriarch, Abdulla, is one of the richest men in the United Arab Emirates, with a net worth of $10.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. For decades, the family simply held on to and managed its assets, moving away from the model of developing and selling new homes that made many in Dubai rich.
With this new project, Sultan launches into a market in which prices have already skyrocketed by more than 70% since 2019, fueling concern due to the risk of a real estate bubble. Over the past four years, this region has attracted dozens of foreign real estate developers from Lithuania, Russia, India and many other markets looking for land, even though the newcomers are met with higher-than-expected prices.
