BATOOL GHAITH (ABU DHABI)
In 2025 alone, 6,277 new millionaires were minted in the UAE, solidifying its position as one of the world's fastest-growing wealth hubs, according to the UBS Global Wealth Report 2026.
The combined wealth of the UAE's millionaires totals $814,410 million, the report said. The UAE counts roughly 183,000 dollar millionaires, up 3.5% from 2024, which is a faster pace of millionaire creation than Saudi Arabia (2.6%) and the United States (1.9%).
The 17th edition of the report, which examined 56 markets, revealed that global wealth expanded at its fastest pace in 2025 since 2017. The data revealed that wealth growth was strongest in Europe and the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at 17.5% due to a weaker US dollar, followed by the Americas at 8.5%.
In 2025, global personal wealth rose by 10.8% in dollar terms, according to the report, significantly outpacing the 4.6% growth seen in 2024 and 4.2% in 2023.
Iqbal Khan, Co-President UBS Global Wealth Management, said global wealth is evolving at pace, with growth increasingly shaped by shifting economic conditions, technological change and new sources of opportunity across markets.
In the UAE, median wealth per adult has more than doubled in growth terms, rising over 40% between 2020 and 2025, the report indicated, the pace of growth was exceeded only by Japan among the 56 markets tracked.
Additionally, the average wealth per adult in the UAE climbed by almost 25% in 5 years (2020-2025). Financial assets, cash, equities, pensions, investment funds, make up 59.2% of gross household wealth in the UAE, while gross non-financial assets make up 46.7% of wealth in the UAE.
The report stated that debt is nearly absent in the UAE, as households carry one of the lowest debt burdens at only 6.0% of gross wealth, trailing Saudi Arabia at 5.9% and Mexico at 5.2%.
According to the report, the UAE ranks 18th in the world by headcount in terms of millionaires, with 183,000 millionaires, behind Ireland's 192,000 and ahead of Portugal's 181,000 despite the country's relatively small population of 11.3 million compared to the other countries.
Additionally, 2.0% of UAE's adults own more than $1 million, controlling 57.2% of the country's total wealth, while 8.2% adults hold assets between $100,000 and $1 million, accounting for 21.7% of total wealth.
Moreover, 43.7% of adults sit in the $10,000-$100,000 band, which makes 22.7% of the country's wealth, and 46.1%, nearly half the adult population, hold less than $10,000, owning effectively none of the country's wealth.
The report noted that the UAE recorded collective wealth growth of 9.0% in the $5-$10 million bracket, 11.7% in the $10-$50 million bracket, and 13.2% in the $50-$100 million bracket, making it 4th globally for growth in these brackets behind China, Australia and Brazil.
The UAE ranked 29th in average wealth per adult at $157,612. The report also recognised the UAE as one of the 15 emerging markets in the world among China, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and more.
During the media briefing on Tuesday, Paul Donovan, Chief Economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, said that the demographics of global wealth are changing as people who own wealth are changing rapidly over the next 10-15 years.
Donovan also indicated that women are growing in global wealth, noting that 46% of UBS clients are women.
He pointed out that thanks to social media, there is more awareness regarding wealth as it is becoming more visible.
Looking ahead, UBS stated that while global wealth is likely to continue growing, outcomes will increasingly depend on access to investable assets and the ability to diversify, shaping how widely future gains will be shared.