The rate of new very high net-worth people in the Middle East slowed to just 1 per cent last year, the second-lowest globally, according to consultancy Wealth-X.
The number of very high net-worth individuals rose to 73,680 in 2019, who shared a net worth of $751 billion (Dh2.76 trillion), a rise of 1 per cent year-on-year. This compared to a growth rate of 6.2 per cent in 2018.
The 2019 growth rate was the second-slowest globally, behind Latin America and the Caribbean, where growth was flat.
Wealth-X defines very high net-worth individuals as having a net wealth of between $5m and $30m. This category does not include ultra high net worth people, who are defined as having ultra high net-worth of above $30m.
“In the Middle East, lacklustre growth was in large part due to its standout performance in 2018, when the region recorded by far the most dynamic net worth gains of any region,” said Maya Imberg, director of analytics at Wealth-X.
“However, in 2019, a number of one-off and long-term events constrained wealth growth.”
These included a broad-based slowdown in economic growth, instability in Lebanon and Iraq and rising geopolitical tensions. And although most local stock markets made gains last year, they “failed to match the growth of other regions”, Ms Imberg added.
Globally, the number of very high net worth people grew 10.2 per cent to almost 2.67 million — 39.2 per cent of whom reside in North America.
Asia is the next-biggest region in terms of the number of very high net-worth individuals, followed by Europe and Latin America. The Middle East is the fifth-biggest region, with 2.8 per cent of the global share.
