Dubai: Those luxury properties may not be getting snapped up at the pace they were accustomed to, but Dubai ranks among the Top 10 “important cities” this year for “ultra-high-net-worth individuals” (UHNI). Topping the list, just issued by Knight Frank in its latest Wealth Report, are London, New York and Hong Kong, while Dubai is in the eighth spot.
Dubai is ahead of Beijing and Zurich but comes behind Singapore, Shanghai, Miami and Paris as the choice cities of the uber-rich, which Knight Frank defines as anyone who has $30 million (Dh110 million) worth of assets. Dubai is believed to have seen a 5 per cent increase in its UHNI population in 2014.
And what should please developers of high-end projects in the years to come is the forecast that Dubai shall figure in the Top 10 choices a decade from now. It will also be a boost to recently unveiled plans by the Dubai Land Department to make a concerted push for Dubai’s credentials as the place to be for globe-trotting high value investors and those in life sciences and creative industries.
Despite the UK Government’s moves with proposals such as the mansion tax, London’s primacy as the place to be for the seriously wealthy is not about to be easily challenged. London currently hosts more than double the number of them — 4,364 more than its nearest European rival, Frankfurt, which is home to only 1,909 — according to the report. But in the next 10 years, “Singapore will have closed the gap with a 54 per cent growth in its population of the super-rich during that period”, the report adds.
In fact, Asian cities will fast-track their way into the top echelons. “The most rapid growth in wealth will be seen in the likes of Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Mumbai and Delhi,” said Liam Bailey, Global Head of Research at Knight Frank. “One-fifth of the 100 global cities assessed in the Wealth Report are expected to see greater than 100 per cent growth over the next decade, all of which are in Asia or Africa.”
In part, this heralds a seismic shift of wealth in and towards Asia. While “London and New York will vie for top spot over the next decade — with New York being the final winner in 2025 — Asian cities [are] becoming increasingly important over Europe,” said Bailey.
The US, followed by Japan, Germany and the UK, occupied the top four spots in having the highest concentration of the super-wealthy in 2014. China was in fifth place, and immediately ahead of Canada.
“Despite the headwinds facing the global economy as a result of renewed political tensions and fiscal uncertainty in 2014, some countries experienced particularly strong wealth creation last year, with UHNI populations expanding by 5 per cent or more in 15 countries,” Bailey said.
The Knight Frank report finds: “The ultra-wealthy in Asia now hold net assets totalling $5.9 trillion, while those in North America hold $5.5 trillion, but Europe far outstrips both with holdings of $6.4 trillion. The longer-term forecast is for the number to grow by 34 per cent over the next 10 years with the highest proportional growth coming from Russia and CIS countries (a 61 per cent increase) and then Africa (59 per cent).”
