Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
Despite global economic uncertainty, the UAE’s wealth market remains on track for significant growth by 2030.
The UAE’s net wealth reached $3.6 trillion in 2025 and is projected to approach $6 trillion by 2030. This reflects the market’s resilience despite global volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, according to Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Global Wealth Report 2026: The Great Reordering.
Lukasz Rey, Managing Director and Partner at BCG, said in a statement: “The ongoing conflict has introduced short-term volatility across Middle Eastern markets, with investor sentiment shaped by geopolitical uncertainty and oil-price movements.”
“However, the region's wealth development story remains structurally resilient over the five-year projection horizon,” he added, citing economic diversification, sovereign wealth and private capital activity as key growth drivers.
The report also highlights the growing role of artificial intelligence in transforming wealth management and improving operational efficiency.
“The UAE's wealth pool is set to grow by more than $2 trillion over the next five years, and the constraint on capturing that growth is adviser capacity rather than client demand,” said Mohammad Khan, Managing Director and Partner at BCG.
BCG estimates that AI-first wealth managers could boost operational capacity by 25% – 30% and revenue per adviser by 15% –20%, highlighting the benefits of integrating AI into core workflows.
“Firms that are redesigning their workflows around AI agents are creating the headroom to serve a larger client base without diluting the quality of advice,” he added.
According to the report, the UAE’s net wealth increased by 12.7%, from $3.2 trillion in 2024 to $3.6 trillion in 2025, and is projected to reach $6 trillion by 2030. This represents an increase of more than $2.3 trillion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.6%.
Financial wealth grew by 12.3%, from $1.2 trillion in 2024 to $1.4 trillion in 2025. This is expected to reach $2.1 trillion by 2030, with a CAGR of 8.7%. Real assets increased from $2.2 trillion in 2024 to $2.4 trillion in 2025 and are projected to reach $4.2 trillion by 2030, with a CAGR of 11.5%.
Liabilities rose from $210 billion in 2024 to $220 billion in 2025 and are forecast to reach $340 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 8.9%. Regarding high-net-worth individuals and wealth distribution, the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, with assets exceeding $100 million, is expected to increase from approximately 500 in 2025 to 800 by 2030.
Their share of financial wealth is projected to rise from 26.3% to 26.5%. The number of upper high-net-worth individuals, with assets between $20 million and $100 million, is projected to grow from approximately 2,700 in 2025 to 4,200 by 2030.
Their share of financial wealth is expected to increase from 7.4% to 7.6%. The lower high-net-worth segment comprised approximately 200,000 individuals with assets between $1 million and $20 million in 2025.
Their share of financial wealth is expected to increase from 29.3% in 2025 to 31.5% by 2030. On the affluent and mass-market population, the number of affluent individuals, with assets between $250,000 and $1 million, is projected to increase from approximately 500,000 in 2025 to 600,000 by 2030.
Their share of financial wealth is expected to decline from 15.5% to 14.6%. Meanwhile, the mass-market population, with assets below $250,000, is expected to grow from approximately 8.6 million individuals in 2025 to 9 million by 2030.
Their share of financial wealth is projected to decrease from 21.5% to 19.8%. As for the cross-border wealth and the UAE’s global position, financial wealth belonging to UAE residents and booked abroad increased by 9.4% to $468.4 billion in 2025.
It is projected to reach $678.2 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.7%. Meanwhile, cross-border wealth belonging to international clients and booked in the UAE reached $721 billion in 2025. This represented an 11.1% year-on-year increase.
The financial assets and investment growth, currency and deposits were valued at $471.8 billion in 2025. They are projected to reach $778.9 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.5%.
