The UAE is set to be the world’s ‘wealth magnet’ this year, with 6,700 millionaires expected to move there

The US, however, still has the largest overall population of millionaires, followed by China, it said. The UAE came in 14th.

The annual wealth report suggested that a record-breaking 128,000 millionaires, defined as individuals with liquid investable assets over $1 million, are expected to move countries this year.

The firm dubbed 2024 a “watershed moment in the global migration of wealth.”

The firm’s calculations are based on millionaire migration data from the first six months of 2024, rounded to the nearest 100, supplied by wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth.

China is actually on track to lose the greatest number of millionaires in 2024, with 15,200 high-net-worth individuals, or HNWIs, expected to leave the country, it said.

This is a 10% increase from last year, it added, when China also had the highest outflow of millionaires.

The UK is predicted to see the second-highest expatriation of millionaires in 2024, it said, with 9,500 likely to leave. This is double the 4,200 who left the UK last year.

The UK, particularly London, is feeling a steep reversal in its status as a hub for the ultrawealthy. Policy changes targeting the ultrawealthy ahead of elections this summer are to blame, according to Hannah White, director of the UK think tank Insitute for Government, per the report’s press release.

According to the release, the UAE has positioned itself as a global “wealth magnet” thanks to its nonexistent income tax, “golden” visas, and luxury lifestyle.

This is the third year in a row that the Emirates has landed the top spot on the list.

Dubai, the UAE’s luxurious epicenter, has seen a boom in real-estate investment, with luxury apartment complexes due to be completed in 2024 and 2025 selling out in just one day.

Attracting and retaining HNWIs is an important strategy in geopolitical relations.

Dominic Volek, the head of private clients at Henley & Partners, said millionaire migration could inject capital and talent into the host nations as a “debt-free source of funding for governments,” per the report.