UAE ranks first among emerging family office centres with 74.0 score

The UAE ranked first among nine emerging family office centres worldwide with a composite score of 74.0, according to a report published by Global Citizen Solutions in October 2026. The score exceeded those of four established centres including the United States, the United Kingdom, Liechtenstein and Monaco, though the emerging and established groups are ranked separately.

Regime and ecosystem scores#

The Emirates achieved a score of 100 for regime and tax, and recorded 78 for ecosystem and centre depth. That ecosystem figure is the highest recorded by any emerging centre and exceeds the scores of five of the eight established centres assessed. The report, titled Family Offices: Best Jurisdictions Worldwide, compared 33 jurisdictions across two dimensions: what each provides to the family office structure and what each provides to the family itself. Dubai ranked seventh among global financial centres. The Emirates imposes no personal income tax and sets a zero statutory rate on intergenerational wealth transfers.

DIFC entity count and regional comparison#

The Dubai International Financial Centre held 1,408 entities related to family businesses as of June 30, 2026, representing a 36 per cent increase from the prior year. Qatar ranked second among emerging centres on 66.8 and matched the UAE with 100 on regime and tax. Saudi Arabia ranked eighth on 47.1, with 30 on regime and tax. The report stated that terms can be written in a budget cycle while the industry behind them takes a decade to build.

Multi-jurisdiction holdings and citizenship routes#

The UBS Global Family Office Report 2026 found that 88 per cent of family offices hold bankable assets across two or more jurisdictions. Among the 33 jurisdictions assessed, 25 provide foreign families with a pathway to citizenship. Of those 25, a total of 21 impose no restrictions and allow holders to maintain dual nationality. Deloitte projects wealth held in family office structures will reach $9.5 trillion by 2030, up from $5.5 trillion in 2024. The number of single-family offices worldwide is projected to rise to 10,720 from 8,030 over the same period.

Diversification strategy and jurisdiction selection#

Global Citizen Solutions stated that mobility is treated as part of a family office's diversification strategy. The report identified Singapore, the UAE and Hong Kong as the three jurisdictions a family prioritising the office would choose between. For families prioritising status and succession, the choice lies between Switzerland, Portugal and Italy, according to the assessment of 17 ranked jurisdictions. Only six of the 33 jurisdictions cleared the median on both regime and ecosystem measures, and only one of them, Singapore, has a purpose-built family office regime.