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UAE jobs: SWFs, central banks, pension funds employ 11,000 in GCC
As reported earlier, Abu Dhabi maintains its status as the world’s capital of capital as its SWFs control $1.819 trillion in assets
Abu Dhabi is not just the capital of capital but also the human capital of the world when it comes to sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), according to a new study.
Abu Dhabi’s SWFs employ about 3,000 personnel, highlighting the city’s significant financial and human capital in the SWF sector, according to Global SWF's 2025 Mena Playbook.
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In the region, sovereign funds in Saudi Arabia employ 3,694 staff, followed by Abu Dhabi (3,660), Dubai (1,309), Kuwait (1,100), Qatar (670), Oman (522), and Bahrain (290). In the UAE, sovereign funds employ over 5,000 people – both nationals and expatriates.
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The GCC sovereign wealth funds, who manage billions of dollars, are among the most-after employer in the UAE and region, offering highly attractive packages to top executives and professional employees.
Of the $14 trillion in assets managed by SWFs globally, $1.8 trillion is sitting in the UAE capital, including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Council (Adic), ADQ, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), Edge, and Emirates Investment Authority (DIA), according to Global SWF.
As reported earlier, Abu Dhabi maintains its status as the world’s capital of capital as its SWFs control $1.819 trillion in assets.
In the region, Riyadh ($1.071 trillion) and Kuwait ($1.011 trillion) are the other richest cities.
State-owned investors — which include SWFs, public pension funds, and central banks — employ over 11,000 people in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
It added that SWFs in the UAE are among the most diverse and the regional sovereign funds will be “important employers of expatriates and incubators of local talent alike".
“We estimate that Gulf SOIs employ more than 11,000 staff. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is the largest of them all — and the world’s largest SWF employer — with almost 3,000 employees, up from 30 in 2015. Eighty-two percent of that headcount are Saudi nationals. However, the highest nationalisation rate is found at Oman Investment Authority (OIA), where 93 per cent of its 422 employees are Omani nationals,” the global think-tank said in its 2025 Mena Playbook.
It said that the UAE sovereign wealth fund (SWFs) Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), Mubadala, and Qatar’s Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) are among the most diverse institutions in the GCC, with personnel from 65, 54, and 66 nationalities, respectively.
It added that the three are “likely the world’s three most diverse” sovereign funds.
As pension funds grow in size and sophistication, Global SWF expects them to become important employers of expatriates and incubators of local talent alike.
“Some, including Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS), Saudi Arabia’s General Organisation for Social Insurance (Gosi), and Bahrain’s Social Insurance Organisation (SIO), have in-house asset managers that add to the size and diversity of the region’s talent pool,” it added.
Waheed Abbas
Waheed Abbas is Assistant Editor, covering real estate, aviation and other business stories that directly affect the lives of UAE consumers. He frequently reports human interest stories, too.
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