Saudi Arabia has emerged as the richest country in the GCC region in terms of total net wealth, which rose by approximately 1% year-on-year to $3.7 trillion in 2024, according to data from Boston Consulting Group.

The UAE is fast catching up on the back of a surge in cross-border wealth, with the combined value of assets minus liabilities, held by individuals in the country jumping by around 9.89 % to $3.12 trillion.

The growth in the UAE is the highest in the region, driven by significant growth in real assets, which rose by 10.2 % to $2.18 trillion, as well as financial wealth, which went up by 9.5 % to $1.15 trillion.

The consultancy firm looked into the aggregate value of real assets and financial wealth, including liquid investable assets such as equities, bonds, currency and deposits, life insurance and pensions, and other assets of residents in various countries in the GCC.

However, the report did not specify the total net wealth per capita. Saudi Arabia has one of the biggest populations in the Middle East region.

In Qatar, total net wealth reached $765 billion, up by around 2 % from the previous year, while Kuwait posted a net wealth of $538 billion, rising by approximately 2.09 % from a year ago.

Oman and Bahrain were at the bottom of the net wealth rankings with $300 billion and $160 billion, respectively.

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)