Dubai: A new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has found that self-made professionals and entrepreneurs represent the largest concentration of wealth in the world with $88 billion (Dh323 billion) in global assets.
New Wealth Builders, as defined by the EIU in the report sponsored by Citi, are households with financial assets of $100,000 to $2 million. The report measured trends across 32 countries including the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
According to a statement from Citi, 78 per cent of New Wealth Builders in the Middle East do not consider themselves wealthy, while 66 per cent donate a percentage of their income to charity.
A total of 17 per cent of Middle East New Wealth Builders have earned their wealth through real estate investment and land development, 11 per cent as an executive at a publicly held company and 8 per cent through entrepreneurship.
The report also found that 57 per cent of Middle East New Wealth Builders “factor charities and philanthropies into their estate planning,” according to the statement. A total of 81 per cent use digital banking channels on a regular basis, the same amount as North American New Wealth Builders.
A total of 19 per cent of Middle East New Wealth Builders found domestic and global economic and political instability as the biggest the threats to their wealth. In North America, 28 per cent found it as a threat.
New Wealth Builders are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1 per cent to $145 billion by 2020, the statement said.