Henley Global Citizens Report reveals UAE is world’s top millionaire magnet in 2022
Mita Srinivasan
10X People
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Henley Global Citizens Report reveals UAE is world’s top millionaire magnet in 2022

In terms of projected HNWI growth over the next decade, the number of dollar millionaires and billionaires will increase by 40 percent in the UAE and 20 percent in the US, compared to emerging economies in Africa such as Mauritius, Uganda, and Nigeria, which are forecast to grow by anywhere between 40 and 80 percent over the next 10 years. India’s HNWI growth is also projected to be 80 percent by 2031, while Sri Lanka’s growth projection is 90 percent.

The UAE is expected to attract the largest net inflow of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) globally in 2022, according to forecast HNWI figures published in the latest Henley Global Citizens Report, which tracks private wealth and investment migration trends worldwide.

The Q2 report forecasts that approximately 4,000 more millionaires are expected to move to the UAE this year than will leave — one of the country’s largest net inflows on record. Most come from Russia, India, Africa, and the Middle East. Pre-pandemic, the UAE traditionally attracted net inflows of only around 1,000 millionaires per year.

In terms of projected HNWI growth over the next decade, the number of dollar millionaires and billionaires will increase by 40 percent in the UAE. The Emirate already has 92,600 US-dollar millionaires; 4,000 multi-millionaires worth more than USD 10 million; 251 centi-millionaires (over USD 100 million), and 14 US-dollar billionaires.

Henley & Partners has also seen a significant increase in investor interest in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Philippe Amarante, Managing Partner at Henley & Partners and the Head of the firm’s Dubai office, adds that “much like the UAE, Bahrain applies a nimble, and therefore highly attractive, approach to private clients wishing to invest in the country’s real estate or industrial sectors. The recent start of the construction of the Bahrain–US trade zone as a regional centre for manufacturing, logistics, and distribution for American companies in the kingdom, in the GCC markets, and beyond, has increased Bahrain’s attractiveness.”

He adds that economic and social developments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have also made its premium residency initiative look increasingly appealing to the global community of high-net-worth-individuals. “Research suggests that the education sector in Saudi Arabia benefited from the use of social media during the pandemic, with the result that academics, higher education institutions, and educational technology application providers are increasingly interested in the opportunities the kingdom offers.”

The same report showed that the US has plummeted to 6th place in the Top 10 countries globally in terms of net inflows and outflows of millionaires projected for 2022. The largest wealth market in the world by some margin, accounting for 32 percent of total global private wealth and 36 percent of the world’s millionaires (HNWIs with wealth of USD 1 million or more), the US is still forecast to attract more HNWIs than it loses to emigration.

Canada is ninth in the top 10 globally in terms of projected net HNWI inflows for 2022, with a net plus 1,000 millionaires expected — a drop of 55 percent compared to 2019 when the net inflow was 2,200.

In terms of forecast, HNWI growth over the next decade, the Henley Private Wealth Migration Dashboard predicts that the number of dollar millionaires and billionaires will increase by only 20 percent in the US, compared to emerging economies in Africa such as Mauritius, Uganda, and Nigeria, which are forecast to grow by anywhere between 40 and 80 percent over the next 10 years. India’s HNWI growth is also projected to be 80 percent by 2031, while Sri Lanka’s growth projection is a remarkable 90 percent.

The report released by Henley & Partners exclusively features the latest projected 2022 net inflows and outflows of US dollar millionaires (namely, the difference between the number of HNWIs who relocate to and the number who emigrate from a country) by New World Wealth.