UAE's ultra rich people worth $255 billion

The combined wealth of the UAE's 1,275 ultra wealthy population stands at $255 billion and nearly 1,000 of them are based in Dubai (495) and Abu Dhabi (450), a study by a global authority on wealth intelligence reveals.
More than half (57 per cent) of the UAE's ultra high net worth (UHNW) population - those with $30 million and above in net assets -  amassed their fortune through entrepreneurship and only three per cent of them made their wealth through oil, gas and consumable fuels.
The latest Wealth-X research also revealed that while only eight per cent the UAE's ultra wealthy inherited all of their fortunes, 35 per cent partially inherited, and then grew their wealth.
The study found that the most significant source of wealth for the UAE's UHNW population is industrial conglomerates, at more than 20 per cent.
The wealth-intelligence organisation's data shows that the UAE's 1,275 ultra wealthy individuals represent 20 per cent of the total UHNW in the Middle East. There are nearly 6,000 UHNW individuals in the Middle East with a combined net worth of $995 billion, Wealth-X said.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE jointly account for over 45 per cent of the UHNW population in the Middle East.
"Despite the UAE equity market suffering declines of nearly 20 per cent in the last year, our study shows that UHNW individuals in the country have defied this economic backdrop to record further increases in their fortunes in 2015, highlighting the ability of the world's wealthiest individuals to continue to create new wealth," David Awit, Wealth-X director for the Middle East, said.

Saudi Arabia is ranked 17th in Wealth-X's global ranking of UHNW population by country, with the UAE placing 22nd on the list. There are 1,495 ultra-wealthy individuals living in Saudi Arabia, with a combined fortune of $320 billion.
Another recent study by Wealth-X revealed that globally wealthy individuals move in specific circles, whether it is their professional circle with business partners and colleagues, or their social network with friends and family.
The study digs deep into the social network of the world's wealthy and reveals that the typical wealthy individual is connected to seven other UHNW individuals, one of whom is a billionaire. On average, these seven individuals are worth a total of $6.5 billion.
The study also reveals that more than 90 per cent of these individuals are married and through their spouse, have an extra connection to five other adult UHNW individuals. These personal connections constitute a person's social graph, which Wealth-X regards as the most important and effective method for businesses to generate qualified client referrals.
Looking at the connections of the average billionaire, UHNW and high net worth (HNW) individuals reveals a few interesting differences in the composition of their social graphs.
HNW individuals worth at least $1 million hold more connections in their social graph compared to UHNW individuals worth at least $30 million (5.8 compared to 4.5). HNW individuals also seem to network with individuals who are significantly wealthier than themselves: they are on average connected to someone who is 36.9 times wealthier, and collectively their social graphs are 214 times more valuable than their own net worth.
- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com