What comes to mind when you think of the richest city on earth?
Well, according to the Global Sovereign Wealth Funds, the United Arab Emirates’ capital city, Abu Dhabi is the wealthiest in the world and the size of its economy is staggering.
Global SWF ranked cities across the world in terms of capital managed by their Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) and their data as well as research revealed that the luxurious city has a wealth of $1.7 trillion, which is equivalent to just under £1.4 trillion.
The data platform said: “For the past few decades, Abu Dhabi (“the Capital of Capital”) has grown an impressive portoflio of institutional investors, which are among the world’s largest and most active dealmakers.
“In addition to SWFs, the emirate is home to several other asset owners, including Central Banks (CBs), Public Pension Funds (PPFs), and family offices linked to the royal family members, or Royal Private Offices (RPOs).
“All in all, we estimate Abu Dhabi’s public capital at US $2.3 trillion (£1.9 trillion) and we project it to reach US $3.4 trillion (£2.8 trillion) by 2030.”
The UAE has a large hydrocarbon wealth that gives the country one of the highest GDP per capita in the world and of course, capital Abu Dhabi owns the majority of these resources.
Additionally, the affluent city hold 9% of the world’s proven oil reserves and 5% of the world’s natural gas so it’s not a surprise that its economy is growing at an incredibly rapid pace.
While a huge percentage of Abu Dhabi’s revenue comes from gas and oil exports, the government are looking to expand and build up on its tourism industry as well as other features that could draw in different types of people.
Abu Dhabi’s government annnounced a long-term plan to transform its economy entitled Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030.
Building a globally intergrated business environment, developing highly skilled and productive work force and developing infrastructure capable of supporting “anticipated” economic growth, are just some its prorities.
So despite it impressive fortune, Abu Dhabi is set on making sure the city continues to thrive in the years ahead.