A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high net worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
The Iran war has shaken Dubai’s status as a global wealth hub, as legions of expatriates scramble to escape and family offices and wealth managers reconsider their Middle East footprint.
For the past decade, Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, has successfully marketed itself as a safe haven for the global elite. It’s sunny, safe and largely tax-free. Its ever-growing supply of luxury villas, condo towers and creature comforts for the 1% made Dubai the ultimate playground for worry-free wealth.
Now, however, Dubai’s reputation for safety has been shattered.
Dubai’s five-star Fairmont The Palm Hotel, on its famed man-made, palm-shaped archipelago, was struck by an explosion. Debris from a downed Iranian drone set fire to Burj Al Arab hotel and the Dubai airport was damaged by a missile strike. On Tuesday, the U.S. Consulate in Dubai was targeted by a suspected drone strike, causing a fire nearby.
