Dubai among the top 20 ‘important’ cities for the world’s ultra-wealthy

Dubai was ranked as among the top 20 cities that “matter” to ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs), according to consultancy Knight Frank’s annual Wealth Report.

The City Wealth Index ranked cities on four measures including current wealth – the current population of UHNWIs; investment- the total amount of private investment in property during 2016; connectivity – the number of inbound and outbound first and business class flights in 2016; and future wealth – a forecast of each city’s UHNWI population in 2026.

Dubai, ranked 16, was the only city from the Middle East which featured in the list.

Dana Salbak, associate partner and head of MENA Research at Knight Frank said: “Dubai’s strategic geographical location, modern and sophisticated infrastructure and business friendly regulations make it a popular destination for people to live in, invest and grow their wealth.

“Looking ahead, and with the continued investment into logistics and infrastructure namely Emirates Airlines and Dubai International and Al Maktoum International Airports, we expect the city to jump up the connectivity rankings.

“Meanwhile, the availability of more quality investment stock particularly in the commercial and alternative sector (education and healthcare), is expected to drive futher investments into the city,” she added.

Globally, London emerged as the most important city for UHNWIs, followed by New York.

Liam Bailey, head of Global Research at Knight Frank said: “The global economic powerhouses of London and New York dominate the rankings due to their well-established lead over other cities. However looking ahead, future wealth concentrations and investment firepower look set to be dominated by a tussle for supremacy between Asian and North American cities.”

City Wealth Index 2017

Source: Knight Frank Research, New World Wealth, Sabre, Real Capital Analytics

Overall rank	City	Region	Rank by factor
			Wealth	Investment	Connectivity	Future
1	London	Europe	2	1	1	2
2	New York	North America	1	2	2	1
3	Hong Kong	Asia	3	8	6	4
4	Shanghai	Asia	7	13	3	3
5	Los Angeles	North America	5	3	10	8
6	Singapore	Asia	9	7	7	6
7	San Francisco	North America	4	6	13	7
8	Beijing	Asia	6	23	4	5
9	Tokyo	Asia	10	16	5	10
10	Chicago	North America	12	9	17	17
11	Sydney	Australasia	20	4	19	16
12	Paris	Europe	19	5	11	27
13	Frankfurt	Europe	15	18	18	19
14	Seoul	Asia	13	25	20	13
15	Taipei	Asia	23	30	8	26
16	Dubai	Middle East	24	31	12	21
17	Geneva	Europe	8	29	39	9
18	Zurich	Europe	11	36	30	12
19	Houston	North America	16	27	29	18
20	Melbourne	Australasia	28	10	25	23