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UAE tops world in billionaire wealth growth

DUBAI, September 17, 2014

Billionaire wealth in the UAE surged to $132 billion in 2014 from $45 billion last year, marking a worldwide record increase of 193 per cent, a report said.

The number of billionaires in the UAE also increased to 46 from 37 in 2013, added the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014 released by Wealth-X, the definitive source of intelligence on the ultra wealthy.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia saw a decline of 18.6 per cent in its billionaire wealth, down to $166 billion in 2014, as against $204 billion last year, according to the report, which noted that the kingdom claimed the 10th spot globally for its count of 57 billionaires.

The Middle East experienced a decline in its billionaire population over the past year.

Africa is the only other region that saw a decrease in its number of billionaires. This at least partly explains this decline of the Middle East’s billionaire population, as the region is in the midst of significant socio-political difficulties.

Nonetheless, the remaining billionaires, as well as some of the region’s new billionaires, have seen their total wealth increase. Thirty-four per cent of the Middle East’s billionaires have made their wealth through industrial conglomerates. The diversification of these investments was one of the key reasons for the fast growth rate of Middle Eastern billionaires’ total wealth: it allowed them to benefit from booming markets around the world and across sectors.

Only 6 per cent of the Middle East’s billionaires are female, the smallest share of any other region. This illustrates a gap in the long term potential of the region: more female billionaires can emerge.

However, various socio-cultural barriers are currently preventing growth in this segment of the billionaire population. These types of barriers are common in emerging markets, and illustrate why these regions’ performance is more volatile and mixed than in the more established regions of North America and Europe.

Only 10 per cent of the region’s billionaires fully inherited their wealth. Work, entrepreneurialism and family businesses are the most significant factors behind the growth of the region’s billionaire wealth, the report said.

Global findings

Global billionaire population reached a record 2,325 – a 7 per cent rise from 2013 – with the addition of 155 new billionaires in 2014.

The combined wealth of the world’s billionaires increased by 12 per cent to $7.3 trillion, which is higher than the combined market capitalisation of all the companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014, the only comprehensive, global study on the composition and dynamics of this top tier of the global ultra high net worth (UHNW) population, shows that Europe, with 775 billionaires, is the region with the most billionaires and billionaire wealth ($2.37 trillion).

North America – the region with the most billionaire wealth in 2013 – was overtaken by Europe in terms of billionaire wealth in this year’s census.

Asia, however, boasted the largest billionaire wealth increase, with the region’s billionaires’ fortunes growing by 18.7 per cent over the past year. The region is responsible for 30 per cent of the net increase in global billionaire wealth in 2014. Asia’s billionaire population grew by 10 per cent in 2014, with 52 new entrants into the billionaire club – 33 are from China.

The US maintains its position as the world’s top billionaire country with a population of 571 billionaires in 2014, followed by China (190) and the UK (130), which took the third spot from Germany (123) on the Top 40 Billionaire Countries/Territories list.

Other key findings from the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014:

• Europe is home to more than a third of the world’s billionaire population.

• Latin America and the Caribbean is the region that saw the most significant growth in terms of the size of its billionaire population (37.8 per cent) in 2014, but Asia saw the fastest growth in billionaire wealth (18.7 per cent).

• The billionaire population in the Middle East shrank by 1.9 per cent, but total billionaire wealth in the region rose by 16.7 per cent.

• The size of Africa’s billionaire population decreased by 4.8 per cent, but the region’s billionaire wealth increased by 12.9 per cent.

• There was no change in the billionaire population in the Pacific (34 billionaires), but the region’s total billionaire wealth dropped by 2 per cent.

• Nearly 35 per cent of the world’s billionaires are concentrated in 20 cities. Billionaires are transnational. They move from city to city, rather than from country to country.

• Only 5 per cent of the world's billionaires are worth more than $10 billion.

• The average billionaire‘s wealth rose by 4.4 per cent this year to just over $3.1 billion.

• The average age of the typical billionaire is 63, one year older than it was in 2013.

• There are 2,039 male billionaires in 2014, accounting for 87.7 per cent of the world’s total billionaire wealth of $7.3 trillion.

• There are 286 female billionaires in 2014, accounting for a 12.3 per cent share of global billionaire wealth.

The census – which looks at the global billionaire population from July 2013 to June 2014 – examines this top-tier wealth segment by geographical location, gender, sources of wealth and personal traits.

“Wealth-X is pleased to partner with UBS for a second consecutive year to produce the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census,” Wealth-X CEO Mykolas Rambus said.

“Expert commentary from UBS complements Wealth-X’s global intelligence on the world’s billionaire population, producing a report that demonstrates a true collaboration between the global leader in wealth management and the world’s leading UHNW intelligence provider.

"UBS has served some of the world's most successful families for more than 150 years and, today, more than half of the world's billionaires are clients,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: UAE | UBS | wealth | billionaire | Wealth-X |

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