In the next 20 years, millennials in the Middle East will become the richest generation in history, according to research from property consultant Knight Frank.
The firm’s Wealth Report shows that people born in the region between 1981 and 1996, also known as Generation Y, could inherit around US$90 trillion within the next 20 years.
The prediction is based on the assumption that the older and affluent generations in the region will hand over their fortunes to their children in the next two decades.
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But the report also predicts a surge in the total number of wealthy people during that period – it projects a 28% increase in affluence over the next five years.
The Mena region saw the second-highest rise in ultra wealth last year, at 6.2%, second only to North America.
According to Knight Frank, the shift in wealth could also see a different approach to how fortunes are created. Whereas previous generations relied on property, this might not be the case in the future.
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“The low interest rate environment and impressive growth in house prices over the past 15 years is unlikely to be repeated in the next 15,” said Mike Pickett, director of Cazenove Capital
For example millennials will be more comfortable renting property rather than buying and engaging in what the report terms a ‘subscription lifestyle’.
There will also be a variety of new ways to build wealth, said Pickett. “It goes beyond a simple shift of existing wealth.
“I think the diversity of opportunity to create wealth has also grown — for example, there are YouTubers worth tens of millions. First-generation wealth creation is on the rise, as is the array of entrepreneurial routes to create it.”