Middle East families to experience USD 1trn transfer of generational wealth by 2030

DIFC Innovation Hub, the region's largest innovation ecosystem; Julius Baer, the global Swiss wealth management firm; and Euroclear, the world's leading financial markets infrastructure provider, today launched a whitepaper that outlines how technologies are changing the transfer of wealth and highlights opportunities to streamline the process, particularly in the Middle East.
The Navigating the Future of Inheritance report addresses the complexities of inheritance at a time when the region stands on the verge of a historic transition of USD 1trn (AED 3.67trn) in wealth to heirs and extended family members. This includes High Net Worth individuals in the United Arab Emirates who have seen their assets grow by 20 per cent to reach USD 700bn in value since 2022.
Digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Smart Contracts, Distributed Ledger Technology, and Tokenisation offer promising avenues to reduce friction, improve transparency, and ensure secure, efficient asset transfers.
Despite these new technologies the report identifies that only 24 per cent of High-Net-Worth Individuals currently have a full estate plan in place, highlighting the urgent need for improved inheritance processes. Over half of families (53 per cent) believe that it is just too complicated and too time-intensive to gather, record and plan how to allocate assets across potentially large families.
The report reinforces the importance of close collaboration between wealth managers, family offices, regulators, and service providers in creating a robust platform for wealth transfer and driving adoption.
Mohammad Alblooshi, CEO of DIFC Innovation Hub, said: 'We stand on the crossover of a monumental generational wealth transfer in the Middle East in an era when wealth portfolio compositions are increasingly complex, driven by ever-widening asset categories and an appetite towards investments in digital assets. This report is the fruit of our partnership with Julius Baer and Euroclear, aiming to leverage this inflection point and drive meaningful change along the inheritance journey. Our goal is to harness emerging digital technologies to tap into the opportunities ahead and position the Middle East as a beacon of best practices in the wealth transfer space.'
Alireza Valizadeh, CEO, Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd, said: 'Generational wealth transfer is gaining momentum in the UAE and the wider Middle East, and we, as Julius Baer, are in a unique position to advise our clients having had our origins as a family business. As we work closely with current and future generations, it becomes more important than ever to take into account the evolving landscape with the onset of digital assets. We increasingly see the potential of technology particularly blockchain and tokenisation in enabling a secure and transparent process for wealth transfer. I am particularly pleased that we were able to collaborate with DIFC and Euroclear on the eve of our 20th anniversary celebrations on this innovation paper showcasing how we can work towards building the future of finance together.'
Isabelle Delorme, Global Head of Product Strategy and Innovation, Euroclear, said: 'We are extremely pleased to take this next step with the DIFC Innovation Hub and Julius Baer in the launch of this report with the objective to explain the evolving inheritance landscape and its transformative potential. Together we have crafted a comprehensive guide to address the unique regional challenges and vast opportunities within this sector. Our ambition is to empower financial stakeholders and policymakers to embrace innovation, promote efficiencies and build a future-ready inheritance framework that benefits generations to come.'
Beyond the future of inheritance, the issues and needs of a family business that has been operating for one or two generations may be very different from those of an established multigenerational family business. To cater to these varied needs, DIFC offers a flexible range of family business structures and solutions, which have been covered in a series of new guides. The first two guides in this DIFC series were prepared in collaboration with DIFC Family Wealth Centre partners including M/HQ, Equiom, Clyde & Co, and KENDRIS. 'Understanding DIFC Foundations: A Key Tool for Wealth Structuring and Legacy Planning' and 'Understanding DIFC Trusts: A Comprehensive Guide' are available for download for advisors and families.
The series follows the DIFC Family Wealth Centre's first publication titled 'Prosperity Across Generations: Unlocking the power of DIFC for families', to empower families with access to knowledge and expertise on structures, governance, wealth management, succession, and estate planning in Dubai and DIFC. Reflecting the increasing interest from families across the globe to manage their business growth through DIFC, this guide is now available in Arabic, English, Mandarin, and Spanish.
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