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UAE: More crypto millionaires fly on private jets as digital currency hit record highs

The ultra-rich has been flocking to the UAE over the past few years — with nearly 6,000 additional millionaires expected to be recorded every year in five years

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Photo: Supplied
by

Waheed Abbas

Published: Tue 10 Dec 2024, 9:44 PM

High-net-worth individuals and new crypto millionaires in the UAE are driving demand for private charter jets, say industry executives.

“There is a different cadre of market. There are a lot of those young crypto millionaires that we deal with. Also, the UAE is a great incubation place for startups and a great place to do business for entrepreneurs,” Shafiul Syed, CEO of Royal Jet, told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Mebaa 2024 exhibition taking place at Dubai World Central.

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“Over the last few years, we have witnessed an increase in the number of high-net-worth individuals, not just in Dubai but in India as well. We see [that the number of] younger private jet users are growing. We have started seeing demand from young crypto millionaires, too. We have a healthy mix of clientele from GCC and IMEA and from different verticals like sports to corporates and royal families, government and high-net-worth individuals,” said Claudia Krajhanzl, vice-president for passengers for IMEA at Chapman Freeborn Aviation Services.

Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 milestone recently for the first time ever to trade at an all-time high of $103,992.99. This has turned many young UAE crypto investors into millionaires.

The UAE also has the highest crypto ownership rate in the world, with nearly 30 per cent of residents owning cryptocurrency, followed by Vietnam, the US, Iran, the Philippines, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Ukraine, according to data published by Voronoi, quoting Trip-A.

The UAE has also seen a massive influx of millionaires over the past four years. According to the Henley and Partners’ Private Wealth Migration Report 2024 released in June, the UAE would attract more than 6,700 millionaires this year — the highest in the world.

Ranked 14th globally, the UAE is home to 116,500 millionaires, 308 centimillionaires and 20 billionaires, as per Henley and Partners.

The country is also expected to add nearly 6,000 millionaires every year in five years, attracted by the country’s growing appeal among high-net-worth individuals from across the globe, based on the Global Wealth Report released by Swiss bank UBS in 2024.

Demand from all quarters

The demand for private charter jets is coming from all segments, such as governments, corporations and families, Syed said.

“When we came out of Covid-19, the demand was extremely strong. But this is a bit more of a steady year with a healthy single-digit average growth rate. If we look at the regions around the world, America is growing at a slow pace. Europe shrunk a little bit last year, but the Middle East is growing. With all geopolitics going around the world, the UAE finds itself in a unique position with good ties with all countries. Therefore, demand for travel is huge,” he added.

Paul James, director of sales/aircraft management at DC Aviation, sees a lot more activity in the region for aircraft management.

“There are a number of pre-owned aircraft coming into the region. These are busy times for management firms. In the UAE, it is the corporate business people from India, Pakistan, and Arabs who own private jets. After Covid-19, there has been a large influx of high-net-worth individuals coming into the UAE, so we started seeing people moving from Europe and Americas to UAE, basing their aircraft here.” Sad James.

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Waheed Abbas

Published: Tue 10 Dec 2024, 9:44 PM

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