Latest news with #ultrawealthy
Khaleej Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Dh117.5 million average budget for a Dubai home: World's richest bet big on luxury real estate
Dubai continues to be the most sought-after address for luxury real estate, with high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) allocating increasingly higher budgets to purchase homes in the city. According to the 2025 edition of the Destination Dubai report by global property consultancy Knight Frank, a global HNWI now budgets an average of $32 million (Dh117.5 million) for a home in the emirate. More than half (54 per cent) of ultra-wealthy individuals — those with personal wealth exceeding $50 million — are willing to spend over $80 million. This surge in demand reflects a broader trend that has seen Dubai become the busiest market in the world for $10 million+ home sales. Not just villas The property consultancy told Khaleej Times that Dubai currently has 150 homes priced above Dh100 million on the market. 'And it's not just villas that the global super rich are looking for either. 80 per cent of those with a net worth of $15-20 million are looking for an apartment … We need to ensure we get the balance right between ultra luxury villas and apartments — and key of course to the attractiveness and success of these developments is their exclusivity.' The strongest appetite for a real estate purchase in the UAE comes from those with the greatest wealth, said Faisal Durrani, Partner and Head of Research for Mena at Knight Frank. One of the many key defining features of the current property market cycle is the shift in the profile of buyers, with genuine end-users becoming more active than speculative purchasers. 'They are largely genuine end users, purchasing homes for personal use. This is a sharp reversal in the 'buy-to-flip' investor profile that dominated the city's two previous property cycles. Indeed, our data has revealed that 55 per cent of global HNWIs are keen to purchase real estate in Dubai for personal reasons, be it a holiday home, a second home, or indeed a main residence.' According to Durrani, 83 per cent of global HNWIs are interested in purchasing land in Dubai to build their own home. 'This appetite is high almost irrespective of nationality. Dubai has matured quickly throughout this property cycle and this is clearly evidenced by the desire of potential global HNWI home buyers to settle in the city.' $10.3-billion future Knight Frank estimates that the ultra-rich are poised to inject $10.3 billion into Dubai's residential market. This projection is based on a survey of 387 HNWIs from India, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and East Asia (China, Hong Kong, and Singapore), each with an average net worth of $22 million. The UAE's residential market is especially attractive to regional and global investors. Among Saudi HNWIs, 79 per cent target the UAE for residential purchases, followed by East Asians (68%) and UK buyers (67%). Branded residences are the second-most preferred segment, attracting 49 per cent of survey respondents. Overall, 71 per cent of global HNWIs identified Dubai as their preferred emirate for real estate investment. That preference was highest among Saudis (80%), followed by British (74%), Indians (69%), and East Asians (61%). 'The depth of demand from these nationalities is also reflective of our own market experience,' said Will McKintosh, Regional Partner and Head of Residential, Mena at Knight Frank. 'Indeed, during 2024, Saudi, Indian and British nationals accounted for just over 50% of homes sold by Knight Frank in Dubai.'
South China Morning Post
14-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Singapore's NUS, China's Tsinghua University among world's top producers of rich alumni
The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Tsinghua University are Asia's top universities for generating ultra-wealthy alumni, according to research by Altrata. The alumni population of NUS contains an estimated 3,400 ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), defined as people with fortunes of at least US$30 million, the data company said in a report on Wednesday. Tsinghua has produced an estimated 1,400 such graduates. NUS ranks 17th on a global basis and third on a ranking that excludes US universities, while Tsinghua ties with the University of Manchester for sixth on the non-US ranking but would be outside the top 20 of the overall global ranking, according to the report. US schools dominate the global list, topped by Harvard University with an estimated 18,000 UHNWIs, or 4 per cent of the world's estimated population of 483,500 such individuals, the report said. Of the top 20 universities, 17 are in the US, including second-placed University of Pennsylvania with 9,300 UHNW alumni, followed by third-ranked Stanford University with an estimated 8,400 UNHW alumni. 'The number of UHNW alumni from all of the top 20 non-US universities – an estimated 34,400 – is lower than the combined total of just the top three US institutions,' lead authors Maya Imberg, Maeen Shaban and Bettina Lengyel said in the report. 'This reflects the country's status as by far the biggest UHNW market and underlines the strong academic reputation and appeal of the US university system, with its large number of prestigious institutions providing a well-established pathway to wealth.'
Forbes
07-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why The Future For Financial Advisors Is In The Private Market
The financial market is undergoing a massive change as alternatives—once a wealth creation avenue only available for the ultra-wealthy—go mainstream.
Independent Singapore
07-05-2025
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Credit Suisse agrees to pay over US$510M in US tax case involving Singapore accounts
Credit Suisse Services, a unit of the Swiss banking giant, has pleaded guilty to US charges for helping ultra-wealthy Americans evade taxes. The unit agreed to pay US$510,608,909 (S$658.87 million) in penalties, restitution, forfeiture, and fines, Channel News Asia reported, citing a press release from the US Department of Justice on Monday (May 5). The bank was sentenced for conspiring to conceal over US$4 billion from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) across at least 475 offshore accounts, which were maintained by the Swiss bank in Singapore on behalf of US taxpayers using offshore accounts to evade US taxes and reporting requirements. The Justice Department said that Credit Suisse's bankers falsified records, processed fictitious donation paperwork, and handled over US$1 billion in accounts without documentation of tax compliance. 'In doing so, Credit Suisse AG committed new crimes and breached its May 2014 plea agreement with the United States,' it stated. In 2014, the bank also agreed to pay a US$2.5 billion fine after pleading guilty to a US criminal charge for assisting Americans in evading taxes over several decades. Before the settlement on Monday, a 2023 report from the US Senate Finance Committee found that Credit Suisse had violated its 2014 agreement by continuing to facilitate tax evasion and conceal more than US$700 million from the government. CNA reported that the Swiss bank's unit pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to aid and assist in the preparation of false income tax returns, UBS said. UBS, which acquired Credit Suisse in 2023, said it had no involvement in the underlying conduct, which took place before it acquired the bank. The Swiss lender had already accounted for the issue as a contingent liability during the acquisition and expects part of it to be released as a credit in the second quarter. At the same time, the bank anticipates recording a charge related to the payment in that quarter. Credit Suisse Services has also entered a non-prosecution agreement, which requires the company and its parent firm, UBS, to cooperate with further investigations. They must also disclose any additional information about US-related accounts that may be uncovered in the future. /TISG Read also: MAS fines Credit Suisse $3.9M for misconduct in SG branch by its relationship managers
