The number of billionaires across the world shrunk in 2016 for the first time since the global financial crisis, but local billionaire numbers remain on the up, according to a report.
The Billionaire Census 2017 published by consultancy Wealth-X said the number of billionaires globally fell by 3.1 per cent to 2,397 last year, as 283 people lost their billionaire status and only 207 new billionaires were created.
However, the number of billionaires in the Middle East increased by 1.8 per cent. According to Wealth-X, the total number of billionaires in the region now stands at 169 people, who possess a combined wealth of US$464bn — an increase of 3.1 per cent on 2015.
A spokesman for Wealth-X said "some support [for Middle East billionaire numbers] will have come from the gradual recovery in global commodity markets, particularly in oil prices".
"However, as we have highlighted in previous Billionaire Census reports, Middle Eastern billionaires rank highly for the international diversification of their investment and business holdings."
Globally, the three main industries in which billionaires made their money were finance, industrial conglomerates and real estate. The top 5 countries hosting billionaires were the United States, China, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom.
Wealth-X said the decline in billionaire numbers reflected a fall back from record numbers witnessed in 2015, but it added that both the number of billionaires and their combined wealth remains higher than it was in 2014.
This month, a global Wealth Report published by the property consultancy Knight Frank placed Dubai fourth in a global ranking of cities with the biggest inflows of high net-worth individuals.
The company said the number of ultra high net-worth individuals – those with investible assets of over US$30m – grew by 48 per cent between 2006 and 2016 to 7,370.

Source: The National