Dubai is becoming an increasingly important global hub for the ultra-rich, with the number of billionaires living in the emirate rising to 43 in 2025 even as the UAE’s overall billionaire population slipped.
The latest figures put Dubai joint eighth among the world’s cities for billionaire population, alongside Shenzhen. Only New York, Hong Kong, San Francisco, London, Singapore, Los Angeles and Beijing ranked higher.
The figures come from Altrata’s Billionaire Census 2026, which tracks the world’s wealthiest individuals and the cities and countries where they live and do business.
Dubai’s billionaire population
The UAE had 52 billionaires in 2025, down 1.9 per cent from the previous year. Together, they held an estimated $201 billion in wealth.
Dubai’s billionaire population increased from 41 to 43, placing it among a small group of global cities with the highest concentration of billionaire residents.
That distinction matters because billionaire wealth is increasingly concentrated in major international cities. Altrata said wealthy individuals are drawn to locations offering access to business networks, financial services and lifestyle infrastructure, while the growing mobility of capital allows entrepreneurs and investors to establish themselves across borders.
The report specifically identified Dubai as one of the notable emerging billionaire centres, alongside Istanbul.
UAE has fewer billionaires than Saudi Arabia but more combined wealth
The UAE’s position becomes more interesting when compared with its regional neighbour.
Saudi Arabia had 59 billionaires in 2025, seven more than the UAE. Yet the combined wealth of Saudi billionaires was $175 billion, compared with $201 billion for those in the UAE.
That means the UAE had fewer billionaires but a higher combined billionaire fortune.
At the global level, the 52 UAE billionaires represented about 1.4 per cent of the world’s 3,795 billionaires. Their combined $201 billion fortune represented around 1.3 per cent of the $15.1 trillion held by billionaires worldwide.
Why the Middle East is still attracting billionaire wealth
The UAE’s figures come against a broader increase in the number of billionaires across the Middle East.
The region’s billionaire population grew 5 per cent to 254 people in 2025. Altrata linked the increase partly to economic diversification away from oil and major sovereign infrastructure programmes, particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
However, having more billionaires did not translate into greater combined wealth across the region.
Middle Eastern billionaire wealth fell 4 per cent to $700 billion during the year. Altrata pointed to weaker energy prices and underperforming regional equity markets as factors, noting that oil prices ended 2025 almost 20 per cent lower.
For Dubai, the increase in billionaire residents therefore stands out against a more mixed regional wealth picture.
What is driving billionaire wealth globally?
The global wealth figures show just how rapidly the fortunes of the world’s richest individuals have expanded.
The number of billionaires worldwide climbed 8.2 per cent to a record 3,795 in 2025, while their combined wealth jumped 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.
Technology was another major theme.
Altrata found that, among 150 listed companies contributing most to billionaire wealth, those that made meaningful investments in artificial intelligence recorded 23 per cent higher market capitalisation growth than companies that did not over the combined 2024-25 period.
That helps explain why billionaire fortunes can change quickly: much of their wealth is tied to ownership of businesses rather than sitting in cash.
According to the report, around 73 per cent of the average billionaire portfolio is held in stakes in listed or privately owned companies, while liquid assets account for roughly a quarter.
Dubai’s position reflects a more mobile global wealthy population
The report also highlights how international the world’s billionaire population has become.
Around one in five billionaires was born outside the country where they currently live and where their primary business is based.
That mobility is particularly relevant when looking at cities such as Dubai, which Altrata identifies among the world’s notable billionaire centres.
For the UAE, the latest figures therefore point to a more nuanced picture than the headline number of 52 billionaires suggests. While the country’s total billionaire population declined slightly, Dubai continued to add ultra-wealthy residents and now ranks alongside one of the world’s major wealth hubs.
For a city competing for internationally mobile entrepreneurs, investors and business owners, that shift is one of the more notable findings in the latest global billionaire rankings.
tanvir@dubainewsweek.com
