The UAE’s net wealth grew by 12.7 per cent between 2024 and 2025, rising from $3.2 trillion to $3.6 trillion, according to Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Global Wealth Report 2026.
Total net wealth is forecast to reach $6 trillion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.6 per cent and an increase of more than $2.3 trillion over the next five years.
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The findings highlight the strength of the UAE’s wealth market amid volatile global conditions and heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
Financial wealth, including both investable and non-investable assets, grew by 12.3 per cent over the year, from $1.2 trillion to $1.4 trillion. It is projected to reach $2.1 trillion by 2030, at a CAGR of 8.7 per cent.
Real assets rose from $2.2 trillion to $2.4 trillion and are expected to reach $4.2 trillion by 2030, at a CAGR of 11.5 per cent. Liabilities climbed to $220 billion in 2025 from $210 billion a year earlier and are projected to reach $340 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 8.9 per cent.
Cross-border financial wealth belonging to UAE residents but booked outside the country surged by 9.4 per cent to $468.4 billion. It is forecast to reach $678.2 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 7.7 per cent.
The UAE also strengthened its position as a global wealth booking centre. Cross-border wealth belonging to international clients and booked in the country reached $721 billion in 2025, up 11.1 per cent year-on-year.
The study noted that currency and deposits amounted to $471.8 billion in 2025 and are projected to reach $778.9 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 10.5 per cent.
Equity wealth amounted to $419.4 billion and is expected to rise to $591.9 billion, at a CAGR of 7.1 per cent.
Bond investments totalled $15.9 billion and are expected to reach $27.8 billion. Life insurance and pension wealth totalled $26.6 billion and is projected to grow to $48.4 billion.
“The ongoing conflict has introduced short-term volatility across Middle Eastern markets, with investor sentiment shaped by geopolitical uncertainty and oil-price movements,” said Lukasz Rey, managing director and partner at BCG.
“However, the region’s wealth development story remains structurally resilient over the five-year projection horizon. While we anticipate slightly lower growth over the next one to two years, a rebound is expected towards the latter part of the decade, supported by sovereign wealth strength, economic diversification agendas, family-business liquidity events, and continued private capital activity.”
Rey added that wealth managers are expected to remain cautious in the near term, but that “the long-term wealth opportunity in the Middle East remains intact”.
Millionaires
The report said financial wealth remains concentrated among high-net-worth individuals, but the distribution is expected to change by 2030 as more wealth accumulates in the lower high-net-worth segment.
The UAE had about 500 ultra-high-net-worth individuals with more than $100 million in assets in 2025, a number expected to rise to around 800 by 2030. Their share of financial wealth is projected to edge up from 26.3 per cent to 26.5 per cent.
The upper high-net-worth segment, comprising individuals with $20 million to $100 million, is forecast to grow from about 2,700 to 4,200 people, with its share remaining broadly stable at 7.4 per cent in 2025 and 7.6 per cent in 2030.
The lower high-net-worth segment, comprising individuals with $1 million to $20 million, includes about 200,000 people. Its share of financial wealth is expected to increase from 29.3 per cent to 31.5 per cent.
The affluent segment, comprising individuals with $250,000 to $1 million, is expected to grow from about 500,000 to 600,000 people. However, its share of financial wealth is projected to fall from 15.5 per cent to 14.6 per cent as wealth spreads across a larger population.
The mass segment, comprising individuals with less than $250,000, remains the largest by population. Its numbers are expected to rise from roughly 8.6 million to 9 million, while its share of financial wealth declines from 21.5 per cent to 19.8 per cent.
“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 advisor capacity rather than client demand,” said Mohammad Khan, managing director and partner at BCG.
“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. Those layering AI onto legacy processes are paying for the technology without changing their economics, and that gap widens the longer it is left,” he added.
Source: Khaleej Times