UAE’s wealthy lead the field in hunt for treasure

The country’s mega-rich spend a bigger portion of their wealth on treasure than anywhere else in the world, according to a new report.

But they’re not scouring Jumeirah beach with metal detectors - ‘treasure’ is the term used by Barclays Wealth to describe collectibles like art, antiques, jewellery and sports car.

The firm compiled a new report based on the responses of over 2000 millionaires from across the globe. The UAE’s super-rich tie-up more of their wealth - 18 per cent - in such assets than their peers from any other country polled. The global average is 10 per cent.

But they aren’t splashing out on sports cars and expensive paintings for fun.

OK, well not just for fun. The report’s authors note that while on average only 18 per cent of the treasure owned by wealthy individuals is being held purely as an investment, in the Middle East the rich hold around 40 per cent of their collectibles purely with a view to selling them for profit.

There’s bad news for anyone hoping to persuade a doubtful spouse that a classic car would be a sensible purchase - the report’s authors found such vehicles are the “most costly pursuit” for the budding collector.

Don’t get too upset if you can’t afford a Ferrari or a Picasso - the survey found that almost two thirds of the UAE’s super-rich, 62 per cent, believe the wealthy have a duty to share their valuable possessions with society.