Number of global millionaires grows

JIM KRANE
AP BUSINESS WRITER

With the background of Dubai International Financial Center, Mones R. Bazzy, Head of Merrill Lynch Middle East talks to the journalists at the Emirates Towers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday June 20, 2006. The increasing ease of becoming a millionaire became clear Tuesday, with the announcement that the ranks of world millionaires had swelled to 8.7 million last year, half a million more than the population of New York City. (AP PhotolKamran Jebreili)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The increasing ease of becoming a millionaire became clear Tuesday, with the announcement that the ranks of world millionaires had swelled to 8.7 million last year - half a million more than the population of New York City.

Millionaires also invested more aggressively, pouring cash into emerging markets and pulling it out of fixed income holdings, as their wealth reached $33.3 trillion, more than double U.S. economic output, a study by Merrill Lynch and consultancy Capgemini found.

The red-hot Middle East saw nearly 10 percent growth in millionaires - the world's fastest rate - with record oil revenues and soaring stock markets pushing 300,000 people over the million-dollar mark.

"This is becoming a very attractive place to invest," said Mones R. Bazzy, Merrill Lynch's head of Middle East private banking, based in the Gulf boomtown of Dubai. Bazzy spoke in a hotel conference room overlooking the world's newest international stock market, the futuristic arch-shaped Dubai International Financial Center.

One factor in the Middle East's growth in millionaires was the stock markets that spiked by more than 100 percent in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates last year. Thus far 2006, those markets have plunged by more than 50 percent, which Bazzy said may have since knocked a few millionaires off the list.

Worldwide, the number of millionaires has nearly doubled since Merrill Lynch found 4.5 million of them in 1996.

Last year's 6.5 percent growth in millionaires slowed slightly over last year's 6.6 percent, with the US and Europe slowing most alongside their cooling economies.

But the ranks of the ultra-rich - those worth more than $30 million - climbed by more than 10 percent to 85,400.

Merrill Lynch said the ultra-rich did better because they found "select pockets" of high-growth investments in Asia, Latin America and the Mideast, while most investors stuck with stodgy earnings in North America and Europe.

North America held a slight edge over Europe in the population of millionaires, with 2.9 million to Europe's 2.8 million. Asia counted 2.4 million, Latin America 300,000 and Africa 100,000.

The world's millionaires are increasingly branching out from their home countries, with 65 percent paying attention to foreign markets and 30 percent buying homes overseas, the study found.

Growth of private equity holdings in 2005 outlined an increasing preference for aggressive assets, with investors funneling cash into emerging markets, while unloading fixed-income bank deposits and bonds.

That phenomenon is only supposed to grow, as some $41 trillion is expected to be passed to heirs over the next four decades, and money managers saying more than 80 percent of inheritors will want to boost their international exposure.

Dubai might be one destination. Bazzy said the ease of investment and galloping economic growth in the mushrooming city was spurring the world's premier companies to set up businesses here.

"There are no unions, no taxes and administration is very easy. Barriers to entry are going lower and lower," Bazzy said. Overall, the UAE counts 59,000 millionaires, while neighboring Saudi Arabia had 80,000, Bazzy said.

Hmmmmm...

With more than 2 times UAE's Oil resources you would expect Saudi to have 2 times the amount of millionaires, However its far fewer than that.

This is Why Saudi needs to realize the importance of Investing within the country and developing financial markets.

With future privatization and development of the financial markets in Saudi, expect that 80,000 figure to sky rocket.

Not if you consider the difference in populations, if you include non-nationals, Saudi Arabia has a population of around 22 million while the U.A.E has around 1 million including non-nationals.

Not if you consider the difference in populations, if you include non-nationals, Saudi Arabia has a population of around 22 million while the U.A.E has around 1 million including non-nationals.


Valid Point, However I think the Millionaire's have a direct relationship with the Royal Family of both nations and any influential Merchant Families.

that is correct, however the majority of millionaires in Saudi Arabia have no connections with the government or royal family, as for the Emirates i have no information on how it goes there.

that is correct, however the majority of millionaires in Saudi Arabia have no connections with the government or royal family, as for the Emirates i have no information on how it goes there.


Yes however you can't deny the fact that almost all 7,000 royal family members today are infact millionaires?

^ what a drain on state funds to have such a large royal family.

^ what a drain on state funds to have such a large royal family.


As long as the Royal Family is Investing in Saudi Arabia, society as a whole should be benefitting.

Lately most of the Saudi Princes have been investing inside the country even though there is around $1 Trillion dollars worth of Investments in the US alone.

I do know however that in Jeddah and Makkah area, Al -Baik a fast food resteraunt is owned and operated by a Saudi Prince and his step brother runs the KFC's in the Riyadh area.

So having such a large royal family could be degenerative, but as long as they invest in their country its not too bad.

Fortunately for the Saudi Populace the Royal famiy can't go back on their word of having a Social Welfare state.

I don't know how they come up with the 80,000 figure but to me it is alot less than reality. I would say it is at least twice that number especially after the stock market boom in the past three years. :runaway:

Riyadhi I'm pretty sure that these figures are not completely acurate. This number is probably in some way associated with Forbes, which in fact does not count royals within its figures. In addition, the figure presented probably just counts the account holders and not all persons within the family. I don't know much about this, but you are right. I was kinda surprised, I was expecting it to be MUCH higher, since practically everwhere you go in the cities you see nice cars, huge houses, and sprawling malls.

I do know however that in Jeddah and Makkah area, Al -Baik a fast food resteraunt is owned and operated by a Saudi Prince and his step brother runs the KFC's in the Riyadh area.

i would just like to correct your info about Al-Baik restaurant, i know for certain as it is known in jeddah this restaurant is owened by a Saudi family of Palestinian origin.



Yes however you can't deny the fact that almost all 7,000 royal family members today are infact millionaires?.

this is not correct the number of the members of the royal family are around 3,000, 70% are under 18 this info can be confirm if u look at the royal family tree book published more tham two years ago.
contrary to what u may believe only around 200 of them are influencial and filthy rich.

i would just like to correct your info about Al-Baik restaurant, i know for certain as it is known in jeddah this restaurant is owened by a Saudi family of Palestinian origin.





this is not correct the number of the members of the royal family are around 3,000, 70% are under 18 this info can be confirm if u look at the royal family tree book published more tham two years ago.
contrary to what u may believe only around 200 of them are influencial and filthy rich.


Actually, the Al-Baik Restaurant was bought out by a Saudi Prince in the Mid 90's, It might of been resold or perhaps your info is prior to the purchase?

As for your figure of only 200 royal family members being influential and filthy rich, your not being specific enough.

Are you suggesting out of the 3,000-7,000 Royal family members only 200 are millionaires?? certainly this discussion is about millionaire's in KSA??

it might have been sold, you could be right, my point was that it was huge and worth millions while it was for sure owened by the saudi/palestinian family before it the ownership change( il find out more about that).

elzibdah from all this is that i disagree with what you said earlier about millionaires in the K.S.A that they are linked to the government or royal family.

it could be that you didnt notice, but if you look at all the big companies and big trademarks that make millions they are in fact owened by families that have nothing to do with the government or royal family. i dont think i need to give you a list of all the electronic, food, car companies and more, you know them.
as for the the millionaires that made their fortune by making contracts with the government anyone in Saudi Arabia can count them in two hands.

i just think its unfair to say that all or most of the millionaires in Saudi Arabia made their fortune because of relationships with the government or royal family,it would be discrediting the hard work they have done to have what they have today.

it might have been sold, you could be right, my point was that it was huge and worth millions while it was for sure owened by the saudi/palestinian family before it the ownership change( il find out more about that).

elzibdah from all this is that i disagree with what you said earlier about millionaires in the K.S.A that they are linked to the government or royal family.

it could be that you didnt notice, but if you look at all the big companies and big trademarks that make millions they are in fact owened by families that have nothing to do with the government or royal family. i dont think i need to give you a list of all the electronic, food, car companies and more, you know them.
as for the the millionaires that made their fortune by making contracts with the government anyone in Saudi Arabia can count them in two hands.

i just think its unfair to say that all or most of the millionaires in Saudi Arabia made their fortune because of relationships with the government or royal family,it would be discrediting the hard work they have done to have what they have today.


Oh I agree with you on that, I was just about to name some families that had made it big over there.

What my point is that, the figure of 80,000 millionaires does not make any sense. It has to be much more than that. As for the Royal Families I really can't detract from the fact that I believe almost every one of them is a millionaire. Not necessarily by inheritance but because of the simple fact that if your a member of the royal family chances are your gonna land a very comfortable high paying managerial position in some company/government.

its good we agree on something, and i agree with you, if your a member of the royal familiy chances are you will get a good job, it would be naive to think its different in Saudi Arabian than all other countries.
as for your belief about all the royal family being millionaires, fair enough thats what you believe.
what im saying is that there is a difference between perception and reality.

i strongly disagree however with what you said about the relation with millionaires and the government or royal family in your earlier post.
because i believe that its a sweeping statement and facts and figures point to the opposite.

i strongly disagree however with what you said about the relation with millionaires and the government or royal family in your earlier post.
because i believe that its a sweeping statement and facts and figures point to the opposite.


Your statement of most of the millionaires in Saudi being non Royalty is just as sweeping, untill you can provide a source that can be considered neutral. Keep in mind all statistics that you can find with regards to Saudi is usually screened by the Government itstelf.

Most of the figures of the Royal Family is not disclosed at all, Is anybody aware of how much King Fahd was worth before he passed away?? Or Who had the right to his assets?

Can you also provide a source to me that claims only 200 Royal Family Members are Millionaires?

What i'm claiming is the general consensus amongst Saudi's themselves. My cousins in Jeddah themselves are Millionaires simply because they have saved up their earnings as Doctors, Managers etc, and it is their claims that the almost all Saudi Royal Family members are Millionaires with the best jobs.

Cool millionaires are quite good for the economy but still a big middle class is better :) But the rich are also extreemly important :)

As for the 200 members of the royal family that is an approximate number,
who they are is well known, it is them and their kids who are the multi millionaires any Saudi knows who they are.
you ask for proof when it is you who first made the statement about the royalty/millionaires connection so it is for you to come up with the proof for your statement.
You said that most of the figures of the royal family are secret yet you claim to know for sure that they are all millionaires, some may call that a contradiction, unless you have access to this top secret info.

As for the source of most millionaires having nothing to do with the government or royal family well all the proof you need is to take a stroll in any city in the kingdom look at all the multi-million establishements or busnesses and ask who the owners are. your cousins are not the only ones to make their millions on their own.

ive made my points, you've made your points its clear we wont resolve this since none of us has any confirmed official sources.

"80,000 millionaires" I think there alot alot more, and the more important question about Al-Baik Restaurant is "why there are no branches in Riyadh (BiG?)"

"80,000 millionaires" I think there alot alot more, and the more important question about Al-Baik Restaurant is "why there are no branches in Riyadh (BiG?)"


Because the Prince that own's Al-Baik made a dealing with another Royal family member not to intrude in his KFC territory in Riyadh, that's what i've been told.


To Sailboat,

Actually no, I've already made clear my assumptions are based on the consensus gathered from the Saudi's I know. They themselves claim that almost all royal family members are indeed millionaires. Its funny why you would ask for sources from me when i've already argued the fact that most statistics on royal figures are screened.

You quoted a quantitative figure of only 200 of Royal family members as being millionaires. The 200 figure which now you claim is an approximate. I am asking for sources of such a quantified figure? Is it just out of thin air? Surely there must be some sort of sample with which you estimate such a figure?

And I have never claimed that regular Saudis are not millionaires. I have already shared the well being of my cousins and the numerous Saudis that I do know.

What I would like to know however is, Why you are so convinced that such a small proportion of the Saudi Royal Family are millionaires?

whatever this dealing was I don't think it equals the the profits the owner(s) of Al-Baik would made if they opend some branches in Riyadh. In other words Al-Baik blows out KFC easily :bash:

whatever this dealing was I don't think it equals the the profits the owner(s) of Al-Baik would made if they opend some branches in Riyadh. In other words Al-Baik blows out KFC easily :bash:


I 100% agree with you, but that's how it is. If Al-Baik opened up in Riyadh the KFC's will go out of business. Hence the deal.

I though it was clear in the my last post that neither of us has official or reliable sources, just like you say your assumptions are based on the consensus gathered from the saudis u know, my disagreement with u is based on what is visible in the country, and what most of the people i know think.

I repeat, since as you say the satistics and figures are screened, how is it you are so sure about your info?
my point in asking you this, is to point out to you the contradictions between the things you are saying. didnt you think to ask about this contradiction to your friends who gave you this info? i dont expect you to actually come up with reliable sources cuz i know for sure (and u have said as much) that u cant.

As for not all the royal family being millionaires, its not that i am so convinced its just that i am leting you know what is somewhat common knowledge in Saudi Arabia. As for knowledge "out of thin air".... your one to talk.
if my knowlegde is out of thin air than so is yours, you gather your info from your saudi friends, well guess what? i do the same. my aproximate 200 number is based on what my saudi freinds and i percieve.

its ok that we disagree, i thought that since you seem to be interrested in the government, royal family and millionaires in Saudi arabia, you would be interrested in additional info,even if it is different from the info u already have.

I repeat none of us has proof we both have based our info from what we percieve. i dont know why you have difficulty accepting that their are different points of view concerning wealth distribution in the K.S.A.
since there are no reliable sources at hand how can either of us claim to have the ultimate truth.
im not a big fan of Byzantium style arguments, so i kindly ask, is it ok if we disagree?

Right on Sailboat,

Sorry If I appeared to be aggressive, but I agree with you.

Either of us could be right or wrong and I guess due to lack of transparency in the Kingdom none of us will ever know for sure.

But nice chatting with you.

Good For UAE LOL 60,000

The biggest number of Millionaires is for sure Indonesia.
With almost 100 Milion people are Millionaires :)

Because 1 USD is 9.000 Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) :cheers: :bash: :cheers:

The biggest number of Millionaires is for sure Indonesia.
With almost 100 Milion people are Millionaires :)

Because 1 USD is 9.000 Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) :cheers: :bash: :cheers:


Where do we get these smart people from?

Where do we get these smart people from?

What do you suppose to mean ?

I'm sure both of you didn't mean to do insults...

What do you suppose to mean ?


This is what I meant:

If there is a calculation on the number of millionaires, it will have to be standardized, i.e. there has to be a level playing field. In this case, I assume they counted people who were millionaires in US dollars.

i feel sorry for saudi people. been ruled by an elite group that make any kind of rules they want too. people that gets in power just because their last name is whatever it is. there are people out their that could take that country further than the royal family members, but too bad their last names does't end in (i forgot).
any ways i think this is dectatorship just like in the rest of the world.

This is what I meant:

If there is a calculation on the number of millionaires, it will have to be standardized, i.e. there has to be a level playing field. In this case, I assume they counted people who were millionaires in US dollars.

Agreed ...

I thought you know that I was just making fun of it ... :)
Eniwei ..

Peace Yo :D

i feel sorry for saudi people. been ruled by an elite group that make any kind of rules they want too. people that gets in power just because their last name is whatever it is. there are people out their that could take that country further than the royal family members, but too bad their last names does't end in (i forgot).
any ways i think this is dectatorship just like in the rest of the world.

WOW, BIG TALK, Sudanese 007, so this is why Sudan is developed industrial country. :scouserd:

Let me tell you one thing Mr.007 don't feel sorry for us, feel sorry for your people who don't even have a proper government.
the second thing is it's not about last names you idiot, it's about who gathered different tribes under one rule, you stupid thing.

WOW, BIG TALK, Sudanese 007, so this is why Sudan is developed industrial country.

Let me tell you one thing Mr.007 don't feel sorry for us, feel sorry for your people who don't even have a proper government.
the second thing is it's not about last names you idiot, it's about who gathered different tribes under one rule, you stupid thing.

OK Mr. MAZ3n, i do really feel sorry for my country. But that doesn't mean what i said is wrong.
and also because of these unproper goverment and dicator ship 2 million people died in the south, those are people who are willing to fight for their freedom, and thats why Darfur revolted against the stubid only ruled by northerns goverment.