Middle East millionaires wealth grows 10.7% at Dh11.7 trillion in 2020

The number of millionaires in the Middle East region and their wealth grew last year, according to the World Wealth Report 2021 released by Capgemini Research Institute on Wednesday.

The study found that the population of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) grew 6.8 per cent to 0.8 million while their wealth grew 10.7 per cent to $3.2 trillion (Dh11.7 trillion) in 2020.

Millionaires’ population and wealth in Saudi Arabia grew by 3.3 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively. The UAE registered 3.4 per cent growth in HNWIs population and 5.3 per cent increase in their wealth, it said.

In the ultra-high net worth individuals (UNHWIs) category, the Middle East experienced the highest population and wealth growth of 13.2 per cent and 17.2 per cent, respectively. Iran was a significant contributor to ultra-HNWI population and wealth advances, with 24.5 per cent and 27.3 per cent growth, respectively.

Globally, the high-net-worth individual population grew 6.3 per cent, surpassing the 20 million, while HNWI wealth grew 7.6 per cent in 2020, nearly reaching $80 trillion.

Boosted by rising equity markets and government stimulus, North America surpassed Asia-Pacific to become the 2020 leader in both HNWI population and wealth.

In 2020, the ultra-HNWI segment led overall HNWI population and wealth growth at 9.6 per cent and 9.1 per cent, respectively.

“The wealth management industry must push its frontiers to capture customer mindshare and best serve HNW clients accustomed to BigTech convenience and personalisation,” said Anirban Bose, financial services strategic business unit CEO and group executive board member, Capgemini.

“Investing in technology and talent is a critical need for wealth management firms to maintain their market share as WealthTechs continue to grow and BigTech entry into the space looms,” Bose said.

— waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com