Dubai outranks Washington, Paris and Mumbai as more billionaires move to city
Dubai billionaires also ranked as the highest Middle Eastern city in Altrata’s top 15 table
- Dubai ranked eighth globally with 43 billionaires in 2025, increasing by two since 2024.
- The UAE, with 59 billionaires, ranked 14th globally, experiencing an 11.3% increase in its billionaire population.
- Dubai’s growth coincides with significant expansion in its private wealth infrastructure and substantial wealth migration inflows.
Dubai ranked eighth among the world’s leading billionaire cities in 2025, with 43 billionaires. The city’s number increased by two since the 2024 report.
Dubai shares eighth place with Shenzhen and ranked above Mumbai, Paris and Washington DC. Altrata published its Billionaire Census 2026 in August 2026.
Altrata assigns billionaire locations using each individual’s primary business address. Its two-person increase measures growth in Dubai’s billionaire base without specifying the cause for each change. Separate private wealth migration data records substantial inflows into the UAE during 2025.
Dubai moves into the global top eight
New York retained first place with 164 billionaires after adding 12 during 2025. Hong Kong ranked second with 106. San Francisco followed with 99.
London held fourth with 79, followed by Singapore with 75 and Los Angeles with 73. Beijing occupied seventh place with 61.
Dubai and Shenzhen each counted 43 billionaires. Chicago followed with 42. Mumbai had 40, Houston 39, Paris 38, Istanbul 37 and Washington DC 36.
Dubai’s count increased from 41 to 43, equivalent to growth of about 4.9%. City numbers finished three ahead of Mumbai, five ahead of Paris and seven above Washington DC.
Altrata counted 975 billionaires across the 15 leading cities. Those locations contained 26% of the global billionaire population. Their share has gradually declined from around 28% to 30% earlier this decade as billionaire wealth spreads across more cities.
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UAE billionaire numbers rise 11.3%
UAE ranked 14th among the world’s 15 largest billionaire countries, with 59 individuals at the end of 2025.
National billionaire numbers increased 11.3% during the year. Combined wealth reached $201bn (AED738.2bn). Dubai’s 43 billionaires represented almost 73% of the UAE total under Altrata’s business address methodology.
UAE growth exceeded the worldwide billionaire population increase of 8.2%. Middle East billionaire numbers rose 5% to 254 individuals.
Altrata attributes regional wealth creation partly to non-oil diversification and large sovereign infrastructure programmes. UAE and Saudi Arabia received specific recognition as leading centres for those capital flows.
Middle East billionaires collectively held about $700bn (AED2.57tn). Regional billionaire numbers represented roughly 6.7% of the worldwide total.
Dubai also ranked as the highest Middle Eastern city in Altrata’s top 15 table. Istanbul was the region’s other representative, with 37 billionaires.
DIFC expands private wealth capacity
Dubai’s billionaire ranking coincides with rapid expansion across its private banking, asset management and family wealth infrastructure.
Dubai International Financial Centre ended 2025 with more than 500 wealth and asset management companies, up 22% annually. Family-related entities reached 1,289, rising 61%. DIFC-based families had established 1,115 foundations, an annual increase of 66%.
Growth continued through the first half of 2026.
DIFC counted 592 wealth and asset management firms by June 2026. Family business-related entities reached 1,408, increasing 36% year on year. Foundations climbed 67% to 1,409.
Active registered companies across DIFC reached 10,018, up 30%. Regulated financial services firms increased 16% to 1,134.
Those figures expand the institutional capacity available for private banking, succession planning, fund management, foundations and family investment structures in Dubai.
Wealth migration adds capital to Dubai
UAE private wealth inflows provide a second measure of Dubai’s attraction to internationally mobile capital.
Henley and Partners projected a net inflow of 9,800 millionaires into the UAE during 2025, the largest total globally. Migrating high net worth individuals were expected to bring about $63bn (AED231.4bn) in investable wealth.
DIFC’s February 2026 Global Wealth Outlook reports that most of those 9,800 individuals were expected to settle in Dubai.
Altrata’s billionaire data records a similarly international pattern at the highest wealth tier. One in five billionaires globally lives outside their country of birth.
Another 38.5% own commercial interests headquartered outside their primary country of residence. Altrata identifies financial market depth, regulatory stability, business conditions and tax structures among major factors shaping billionaire location decisions.
Global billionaire wealth reaches $15.1tn
Altrata counted 3,795 billionaires worldwide at the end of 2025, an all-time high. Population growth reached 8.2%, adding a net 287 individuals.
Combined billionaire wealth increased 12.8% to $15.1tn (AED55.45tn). Average wealth reached approximately $4bn (AED14.69bn), while median net worth stood closer to $2bn (AED7.35bn).
Company ownership dominates billionaire balance sheets. Altrata calculates that 73% of an average billionaire portfolio sits in listed or privately owned companies. Public holdings account for 38%, with private company stakes representing 34.5%.
Banking and finance remain the largest primary industry at 19.6%. Technology accounts for 7.5%, while real estate represents 7.1%.
Dubai’s rise to 43 billionaires places the city inside that expanding global wealth cycle, alongside continued growth in its private capital and family wealth industries.
Source: Arabian Business