Saudi Arabia tops the list of Middle East's billionaires, with 64 highly wealthy individuals possessing $204 billion in 2013, the Wealth-X and UBS World Ultra Wealth Report said.
"There are 1,360 rich people in the Kingdom with a total wealth of $285 billion," the report pointed out.
The UAE came second with 1,050 billionaires with a total wealth of $190 billion, followed by Kuwait with 845 wealthy persons having $145 billion.
The report said that 37 highly rich Emiratis possessed $45 billion. About 5,300 rich people in the Middle East have a wealth of $880 billion.
"Despite ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainties, the world's ultra wealthy population reached an all-time high of 199,235 individuals with a combined fortune of nearly $28 trillion in 2013, growing by more than 6 percent in population size from the previous year," the report said.
During 2013, they added $2 trillion to their combined wealth, which is greater than the GDP of India.
The report also identified more than 2,000 billionaires globally with a total net worth of $6.5 trillion.
As of 2013, there are 44,505 ultra-high-net-worth individuals in Asia with a combined wealth of $6.5 trillion, an increase of 5.4 percent from the previous year.
Although the US and Europe grew faster than Asia in the past 12 months, Asia will produce more ultra-high-net-worth individuals and wealth than both regions in the next five years, the report added.
Arab News
16 September
