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Salma Al-Tamimi

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PUBLISHED BY ICN PRESS

  • Global HNWI wealth rose 8.7 percent in 2025 to a record USD 98.3 trillion, the biggest single-year gain since 2018.
  • The world added close to 2 million millionaires, bringing the total to 25.3 million people.
  • The Middle East was the only region to shrink, with its HNWI population down 1.4 percent.
  • Only 17 percent of HNWIs describe their advisory experience as seamless and personalised.

HNWI wealth 2026 trends center on a record year, with global high-net-worth individual wealth rising 8.7 percent in 2025 to USD 98.3 trillion. Capgemini Research Institute published the figure in the 30th edition of its World Wealth Report 2026. High-net-worth individuals, or HNWIs, hold at least USD 1 million in investable assets, not counting a primary home, collectibles, or consumer durables. Equity markets did most of the work, and easing inflation helped. The global millionaire population grew by almost 2 million people to 25.3 million. That was the largest single-year wealth increase since 2018.

Where the new millionaires came from

Asia-Pacific recorded the strongest regional result, with wealth up 10.5 percent and population up 9.4 percent as semiconductor demand lifted Asian stock markets. Japan added 436,000 millionaires, and China added 154,000. India gained 11,300, and Australia gained 18,100. North America saw its HNWI population rise 9.1 percent. The United States added 736,000 new millionaires, more than any other country, taking its total to 8.7 million. Canada’s HNWI population rose 6.7 percent, or roughly 30,000 people. Europe returned to growth at 6.5 percent after falling in 2024, helped by steadier equity markets.

Luxembourg posted a 13.5 percent increase and Germany 11.1 percent, while France and the United Kingdom recorded 2.7 percent and 2.6 percent. Africa grew 4.1 percent on higher precious metal prices, with Morocco the fastest at 16.8 percent. Latin America was nearly flat at 0.3 percent, though Mexico’s HNWI wealth rose 5.4 percent. The Middle East was the only region to contract, down 1.4 percent, as lower oil prices, regional conflict and labour market strain weighed on Gulf economies, the Capgemini report mentioned.

HNWI portfolio allocations move back toward equities

HNWI portfolio allocations shifted as markets rallied. Equities reached 25 percent of portfolios as of January 2026, up three percentage points on the year, on the back of strong corporate earnings and technology sector gains. Fixed income rose two points to 20 percent after bond markets delivered their best returns since 2020. Alternative investments, a group covering private equity, hedge funds, commodities, currencies, structured products and digital assets, slipped to 12 percent as public equities outperformed. Appetite has not faded. Two in three HNWIs, or 68 percent, plan to increase private equity exposure.

Gains clustered at the top. Ultra-high-net-worth individuals, those with USD 30 million or more, numbered about 250,000 after a 9.4 percent rise, and their wealth grew 9.7 percent. Concentration runs through the HNWI wealth 2026 trends data, with the top 1 percent of HNWIs holding 34.8 percent of all HNWI wealth.

What HNWI wealth 2026 trends mean for advisers

Clients no longer stay put. Exclusive relationships have halved in six years. In 2019, 39 percent of HNWIs used a single firm. By 2025, that share had fallen to 19 percent. Product access explains much of the move, with 88 percent saying they work with several firms to reach alternative investments. WealthTechs, single-family offices and robo-advisory platforms are taking share from established players. Kartik Ramakrishnan, CEO of Capgemini’s Financial Services Strategic Business Unit, called the period a clear inflection point for the industry and pointed to an estimated USD 1.5 trillion in new assets that moved to competitors of traditional firms between 2022 and 2025.

Operating models under pressure

Among the wealth management trends 2026 has brought into view, client experience carries the most weight. Only 17 percent of HNWIs call their advisory experience seamless and personalised, and 42 percent have had to repeat their goals to the same firm more than once. Nearly all firms, 97 percent, still sort clients by assets under management rather than by behaviour. Six in ten executives say their firms lack a single view of the client, which leaves work duplicated across teams. Advisers spend 41 percent of their time on operational tasks. Three quarters want AI-enabled systems to handle routine work, and 61 percent want access to a wider group of specialists. HNWI wealth 2026 trends suggest the payoff sits in retention, since 53 percent of satisfied HNWIs recommend their firm and 47 percent consolidate assets with it.

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  • Capital, Finance, HNWI

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Apple's iPhone Duo
  • iPhone

The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable iPhone, and it opens like a small book into a 7.6-inch screen. Closed, you hold a 5.4-inch outer display that fits in a pocket. Both screens share the same aspect ratio, so a video or app scales cleanly as you move between them. Stand it up on a table, and it works hands-free for calls or video. Apple showed the phone on September 9 at its Surprise and Shine event in Cupertino, where new chief executive John Ternus led his first keynote. He said rival foldables often feel like two phones stuck together. The Duo tries to feel like one device that changes size when you need it.

What the screens and camera can do

Open the Duo and the inner display runs 50 percent larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max. A custom nano-texture finish cuts glare and hides the crease, the seam that has annoyed foldable owners for years. Peak brightness reaches 3000 nits, so the screen stays readable outdoors. Inside, an under-display FaceTime camera keeps the view whole, with no notch breaking the screen. The rear camera leans on a 48MP Dual Fusion system with a main and an ultra-wide lens. There is no telephoto, a trade Apple made to save room in the thin body. Smart Take reads the scene and snaps the photo when everyone poses, so you can stand in the shot instead of behind it. You can also shoot 48MP photos and 4K video at up to 120 frames per second.

iPhone Duo specs that matter for daily use

The iPhone Duo specs point to a phone built for long, heavy days. Inside sits the A20 Pro chip with a vapor chamber that spreads heat during games and video edits. Apple pairs it with a dual-battery design that fits more cells into the frame. You get up to 31 hours of video on the inner screen and up to 44 hours on the outer one. Plug it in, and it reaches 50 percent in about 20 minutes. A Grade 5 titanium frame and a precision hinge give the body its strength, and Touch ID moves to the side button in place of Face ID.

iPhone Duo prices are ridiculously high

Here is the part your wallet cares about. The iPhone Duo price starts at $1,999 for 256GB in the United States, which makes it the most expensive iPhone in the lineup. In the UAE, iPhone Duo starts at AED 8,499 for the 256 GB, AED 9,349 for the 512 GB, AED 11,049 for the 1 TB, and the laptop-price level of AED 13,599 for the 2 TB. Preorders open October 16, and the iPhone Duo release date lands on October 23. Apple plans a first wave across more than 70 countries, then adds 28 more on October 30. For comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts near $1,899.

Why the foldable iPhone arrives only now

Apple waited years while Samsung and others sold foldables. Now the foldable iPhone brings iOS 27 features built for two screens, like Split View and apps that respond to how you hold the phone. eSIM handles the connection, since there is no SIM tray anywhere. Apple Pencil support arrives later in 2026. That gap of a few weeks after the iPhone 18 Pro points to a slower, careful rollout for a harder build. If you have wanted a phone that turns into a small tablet without feeling clumsy, this is Apple’s answer, and you can hold one this month.

  • 3 min read
Work from Park initiative
  • Business

The Work from Park initiative puts bookable workspaces inside Dubai’s public parks, starting with Al Barsha Pond Park. Dubai Municipality announced the programme on 19 April 2026 and said it had signed two memoranda of cooperation to deliver it. One went to Group AMANA, which builds the units, and the other to Letswork LLC, which operates them.

Entrepreneurs, freelancers, small and medium-sized enterprises

The structure is a public-private partnership. Dubai Municipality provides the park and the mandate. Private firms handle design, construction, and daily operation. The municipality said the model gives the private sector a route into public facilities while each site keeps its role as a park.

Target users are entrepreneurs, freelancers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and anyone doing remote work in Dubai. Content creators get dedicated production rooms, which the municipality said are meant to strengthen their place in the emirate’s creative economy.

Letswork runs the booking side. Users reserve space through the Letswork app, check in on arrival and use one membership across the company’s network of venues. The offer covers desks by the hour, event space, podcast recording and production rooms for creators. Letswork will also run training programmes and group sessions for creative talent and new businesses.

How the Work from Park initiative is built

Group AMANA delivers the first site through its DuBox unit. DuBox builds the workspace modules in a factory, then transports them to the park and assembles them on site. The municipality said this shortens the build schedule, reduces waste and lowers the environmental footprint compared with conventional construction. Units can be reconfigured later as demand shifts.

The Al Barsha Pond Park site was scheduled to open in May 2026. Letswork now lists it as a bookable venue on its platform. The listing describes modular pods with high-speed Wi-Fi, power and climate-controlled seating, plus podcast studios and creative production rooms. Members can book day passes, meeting rooms and private offices under one Letswork membership.

Dubai Municipality said the Work from Park initiative would add more sites across the emirate later in 2026. Locations and opening dates for those have yet to be confirmed.

Bader Anwahi, CEO of the Public Facilities Agency at Dubai Municipality, said the partnerships combine advanced construction methods with private sector expertise to produce public infrastructure “that is flexible, sustainable, and aligned with modern lifestyles and work patterns.”

Richard Abboud, CEO of Group AMANA, said modular construction lets the company build efficient, adaptable units at speed.

Why the Work from Park initiative fits Dubai’s planning goals

The programme sits under three policy frameworks. Dubai’s 2040 Parks and Greenery Strategy targets 95 million park visits a year by 2040. Land use falls under the Dubai Urban Plan 2040. Economic targets through 2033 come from the Dubai Economic Agenda D33.

Omar AlMheiri, co-founder of Letswork, said the partnership would add dedicated creative spaces and podcast studios. He described it as a step toward changing where and how people in the UAE do flexible work.

Dubai Municipality describes the Work from Park initiative as the first of its kind. Existing Dubai coworking spaces operate from office towers, hotels and retail sites. This programme moves the format onto municipal parkland, with the municipality as host and a private platform as operator.

Outdoor workspaces in Dubai face one obvious constraint: summer heat. The Letswork listing addresses this with climate-controlled seating inside the pods. Demand across a full year of operation will show whether the format holds. The second site, once announced, will be the next signal of how fast the municipality intends to scale.

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