Why is abu dhabi so rich

He believed his people should have, could have, the comforts, the education, the healthcare, the infrastructure of a modern nation. He made sure with careful and prudent planning that that happened. But no one could have predicted just how quickly that initial wealth would double and redouble.

I thought it would be really interesting to explore how the city-state, which is Islamic but has shown some compatibility with the West, came to be that way, why, and to look at the mix of people that exist there. There are also the white expatriates — the Americans, the Australians, the British. I moved there as a child with my parents.

My father was not in oil, but he was in food. When you have people who are starting to work somewhere and build an industry, they need to eat. My father ran a supermarket. That was a great way of plugging into the layers of society. He ran a team of 31 nationalities, from top to bottom — other Arabs, Indians, Emiratis, all playing different roles. Everybody was focusing on making it work. There was a real sense of motivation, as there often are at the beginning of things.

When my parents first went it was considered by their British employers as a hardship posting. The house we lived in was a portable cabin on the beach.

You arrive and you make do. Three sets of tarmac rose, and then a few tracks led off, and then three roads became ten, and they became a grid. You have a small town that becomes a large town.

To imagine a city would have taken great vision. It was a sandy island with a few roads at one end. Now you can barely see any sand. Zayed has a unique ability — he was known for bringing together different tribes and groups that were in disagreement. He could negotiate and build consensus. He was already respected by the tribes out in the deserts of Abu Dhabi when the opportunity came. The oil men were coming whether the tribes liked it or not, and Zayed recognized the moment, and took it.

The question was never are the oil men coming — it was going to happen — but where the Abu Dhabians would fit into the industry that was going to establish itself on their sand and their sea, and whether they would take that industry and use it as a springboard for establishing a culture. But actually having huge oil reserves does not automatically lead to a stable, civilized, wealthy society. We know that. There are other countries in the world that have huge oil reserves and have not deployed the profit to build a culture and a society.

Zayed absolutely took that opportunity. Before Zayed was the ruler it was his brother, Shakhbut. Shakhbut wanted oil to be found because his people were in the middle of the worst depression even by the standards of the deserts of Abu Dhabi. Making ends meet and surviving were the most anyone could hope to do and had done for hundreds of years. The mainstay industry, pearls, dried up. The Japanese began making cultured pearls, and nobody wanted uncultured pearls.

People were starving, so it was a huge relief when oil was found. But Shakhbut was terrified. He took the money, he hid it in chests, he refused to build a city.

He knew that change would be irreversible and it would change the character of his people. My huge chunk of fresh sea bass was chargrilled and covered in shrimp, couscous, roasted corn and a lobster butter sauce.

Oh, you bet. But so what? Eating in your own private gazebo on the shores of the Persian Gulf is something from the end of a James Bond movie. No, the UAE is not for budget travelers. However, one can travel cheaply. Instead, we went to the supermarket Waitrose, which despite being in the basement of the luxurious Jumeirah, had cheaper prices than a Piggly Wiggly in rural Georgia.

One time we wanted to eat dinner and breakfast in our room we bought roast chicken, milk, cereal, noodle soup, sausages, salad and biscuits for 51 dirhams about 12 euros. They are not priced for tourists and natives. Transportation is dirt cheap. The cheapest activity to do in Abu Dhabi is strolling. Unlike Dubai, which seems as crowded as any dusty Third World commercial center, Abu Dhabi is wide open. Clean, modern, six-lane boulevards had little traffic.

Downtown sidewalks were spotless and never crowded. Shopping malls had only had a few locals perusing high-end stores. Abu Dhabi is most tranquil on the Corniche. Keeping to local mores, we resisted holding hands. We strolled like old friends in degree heat and surprising percent November humidity.

We walked past a fountain shooting water 15 meters into the air. Stray, healthy-looking cats ate fresh fish in the shade. Geese and ducks floated languidly in the water. Purple flowers lined the roadside. It was a Saturday morning and we passed hardly anyone. Four Indian laborers rested on a bench. Abu Dhabi is like being in a big, modern capital with a little country seaside village across the street. Near the end of the Corniche, past a long public beach closed for maintenance, we passed Heritage Park.

They take tourists out on sunset cruises. Instead, we avoided the tourists and continued behind the harbor to the Al Mina Fish Market. One man who called us over pointed to giant shrimp, sea bream, tilapia, and grouper.

I also saw one stall lined, sadly, with baby sharks, no more than two feet long. Marina had to turn away in disgust. In one corner, men in hairnets with knives that looked like they once beheaded criminals carved up fish with pools of blood forming around their feet. The market had few customers. We headed to a back corner and entered Blue Ocean Grill, a modest, family style restaurant with blue tables on a spotless white floor.

It looked like it could be a chowder house on the Oregon Coast. I had a fantastic grilled salmon on a bed of basmati rice with fresh vegetables and a fresh, thick pineapple juice. Abu Dhabi is definitely on our return list. Nice travalogue. Thanks as if I visited Abu Dhabi. My son works there and due to Covid 19 I couldnt visit. I frequently visited Doha before Covid and stayed with my daughter there.

That too a nice place. Your email address will not be published. Skip to content Menu. November 19, Abu Dhabi started as a simple pearl center until oil was discovered here in I just traveled from one of the oldest cities in the world to one of the newest. Views from the Observation Deck at Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Photo by Marina Pascucci That figures. Sheikh Zayed Grande Mosque is made up of 80 marble domes. It is riskier, but if you succeed you could become rich. Most CEOs started the business.

They took the biggest risk, and if they succeed, will make a lot of money as the CEO. The job pays a lot of money, but it is high risk and high reward position. Not everyone wants to live with the pressures of running a business. According to a recent estimate, Dubai has about 26, millionaires. Only the city of Istambul boasts more millionaires in the Middle East.

One in people is very rich in the emirate. Dubai has the most billionaires of all cities in the Middle East. More than billionaires call Dubai home. Majid Al Futtaim is the richest person in Dubai.

His wealth originates from retail and entertainment industries. Dubai is really rich. There are more than 30 billionaires living in Dubai.

Dubai is a rich city, but it is not a country. Many people wrongly assume that the source of its riches is in oil. Many people consider Dubai the richest country in the world. Its diverse economy makes Dubai one of the richest in the world.

The growth of its economy comes from business , transportation, tourism and finance. Free trade allowed Dubai to become a wealthy state.

A low tax rate and zero income tax make Dubai a popular business hub. Corporations and investors flock to the state to invest and build companies. Why Is Dubai So Rich? Table of Contents show.