Dubai, Capital of Millionaires: What the Market Is Telling Us

An influx of wealth that flows through the whole market

The starting point is a ranking. Henley & Partners' World's Wealthiest Cities 2025 report counts 81,200 dollar millionaires in Dubai, including 237 centi-millionaires and 20 billionaires, and names the emirate the fastest climber in the global top 50, with a millionaire count that roughly doubled between 2014 and 2024. In other words, these aren't just wealthy visitors: they are residents who settle in, launch businesses, enrol their children in school and buy a home.

That anchoring shows in the volumes. Over five trading days, the market absorbed €2.9 billion in transactions and 3,531 sales — a pace few metropolises can sustain. The top end concentrated in Jumeirah, with two apartments in the Rosewood Residences sealed at €10.7 and €9.7 million and a property in the Solaya project at €9.9 million. To understand how this momentum plays out neighbourhood by neighbourhood, our guide to Dubai real estate market trends puts these records into a longer-term perspective.

The DIFC passes 10,000 companies: office demand feeds the residential market

Demand for high-end housing doesn't appear out of nowhere: it follows jobs and capital. The DIFC has just passed the 10,000 registered companies mark — a first — with 2,318 new firms over twelve months (a 30% rise) and more than 50,000 people working on site. The direct consequence: demand for premium offices exceeds supply, to the point where new towers are marketed before they're even delivered.

For an investor, this is a valuable signal. Where financial headquarters, family offices and senior executives cluster, a solvent and demanding rental pool takes shape. The DIFC district and its immediate surroundings concentrate this upmarket demand, which supports both rents and resale liquidity in well-located segments.

Abu Dhabi thinks big with Marsa Al Saadiyat

The week wasn't only about Dubai. In Abu Dhabi, Aldar unveiled Marsa Al Saadiyat, billed as the largest residential project ever launched in the emirate: €24 billion, 8 kilometres of waterfront and, ultimately, a city within a city of 58,000 residents. The sales launch places Abu Dhabi firmly in the logic of XXL projects backed by a benchmark developer.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi aren't at odds: they answer different profiles and different horizons. To weigh up markets according to your goals, our comparison of markets by investor profile sets out the right criteria before you commit.

What it changes for the investor

What we take away from this week is the consistency across three signals: the lasting arrival of great fortunes, high transaction volumes and an economy that is creating companies and jobs. This combination supports property demand and liquidity — two factors that matter as much as the entry price when investing abroad.

In concrete terms, in Dubai an individual pays no tax on rental income or on real estate capital gains: this framework, which we detail in our guide to Dubai property taxation, changes the net-yield equation. Jumeirah's eight-figure sales illustrate a specific ultra-premium segment; the bulk of the rental market plays out elsewhere, on more accessible tickets where demand from residents and expats remains the real driver.

Our role isn't to promise a figure for performance, but to select the location, the developer and the structure suited to your project. Whether you're eyeing an office, a pied-à-terre or a rental investment, we support you from strategy to handover of the keys — start with our investing in Dubai page to frame your approach.

Source: Original post on Instagram (@lucretia_immobilier) — 5 August 2026