According to the Henley & Partners Private Wealth Migration Report 2023, the UAE will welcome 4,500 new millionaires this year due to its reputation as a haven for the world’s wealthiest.
In a global list of high-net-worth individuals released by the global wealth tracker and residency experts, the UAE is ranked second, behind Australia.
According to Henley & Partners, there has been a continuous increase in millionaire migration over the previous ten years, with 122,000 and 128,000 millionaires predicted to migrate globally in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
UAE millionaire migration
Dr. Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, said: “In general, wealth migration trends look set to revert to pre-pandemic patterns this year, with Australia reclaiming the top spot for net inflows as it did for five years before the Covid outbreak, and China saw the biggest net outflows as it has each year for the past decade.
“The notable exceptions are former top wealth magnets, the UK and the US.”
The research examines the migration of dollar millionaires, or HNWIs with investable wealth of $1 million or more, both within and between nations.
The HNWI migration statistics only include those who have relocated permanently, that is, those who spend more than six months a year in their new nation.
Top 10 countries for millionaire migration
- Australia, 5,200
- UAE, 4,500
- Singapore, 3,200
- US, 2,100
- Switzerland, 1,800
- Canada, 1,600
- Greece, 1,200
- France, 1,000
- Portugal, 800
- New Zealand, 700
Others inevitably lose out while these nations are anticipated to see an inflow of millionaires moving in this year. The net millionaire losers are China, India, the UK, Russia, and Brazil.
The Islamic Development Bank Institute’s Director of Economic Research and Statistics, Dr. Areef Suleman, observes in the study that the multiplier effect of HNWI migration on destination nations is likely to have an influence that goes beyond the investment itself.
He said: “If the $1m coming from HNWIs are invested in a business, it could generate employment and additional demand from existing domestic producers, which multiplies its impact to an amount greater than the initial investment.
“Meanwhile, for source countries, the opportunity lost is mitigated by the flow of remittances and international connections in the form of trade, foreign direct investments, and technological transfers from destination countries.”
