UAE Family Firms Drive 60% of GDP as $700B Wealth Transfer Looms

Family businesses generate about 60% of the UAE's gross domestic product and account for nearly 90% of private sector companies, according to H.E. Juma Mohammed Al Kait, acting undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism. He delivered the figure at the inaugural Forbes Middle East Family Business Summit 2026 in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, October 28.

The two-day summit, held under the ministry's patronage and presented by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), runs October 28–29 at the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas on Saadiyat Island. It brings together family business leaders, investors, policymakers, and governance experts.

"Supporting [family business] development is not only about ensuring continuity across generations, but also about strengthening our economic diversification efforts," Al Kait said.

How much wealth is changing hands?

An estimated $500 billion to $700 billion in family wealth is expected to transfer to the next generation across the Gulf Cooperation Council by 2035, according to Futoon Al Mazrouei, group head of Personal, Business, Wealth and Privileged Client Banking Group at FAB.

"Our industry is rapidly moving from a family business mindset to a strategic approach for family capital," Al Mazrouei said. "The conversation now is how families can secure, manage, and grow their wealth across generations."

She said family offices increasingly oversee diversified portfolios, international assets, and long-term capital allocation, demanding more sophisticated wealth-management and governance structures. She cited a figure that 74% of family offices consider artificial intelligence a top investment priority, and noted the UAE's National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 aims to generate up to $91.2 billion (AED 335 billion) in additional economic growth.

FAB's business is growing alongside that demand. The bank supports more than 100 family businesses and offices across markets. Its SME relationships grew 85% in the first half of 2026, while retail assets under management rose 20%, she said, without specifying comparison periods.

What governance tools does the UAE offer?

Al Kait pointed to UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 37 of 2022 on Family Businesses, which provides a governance and business-continuity framework. He also cited the Unified Family Business Registry and family charters designed to clarify ownership arrangements and management responsibilities.

The Thabat program lets younger generations establish new ventures inside family enterprises by leveraging existing capital, expertise, and business networks. "Empowering the next generation is not simply about providing opportunities. It also requires giving them real responsibilities, allowing them to make decisions, build teams, and take accountability for outcomes," Al Kait said.

He identified technology, manufacturing, and tourism as potential investment opportunities, with AI as a tool to improve productivity and decision-making.

Khuloud Al Omian, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Middle East, opened the summit by calling for stronger institutional structures, transparent shareholder agreements, and clearly defined ownership and management responsibilities. "The sustainability of family businesses is not merely a family matter; it is an investment in the future of our economies, our societies, and generations to come," she said.

Why is Abu Dhabi courting family capital?

H.E. Hamad Sayah AlMazrouei, undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), traced the emirate's partnership with family enterprises to 1968, when the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan began Abu Dhabi's first comprehensive socioeconomic plan and established the National Bank of Abu Dhabi alongside leading local families. The bank later became part of FAB.

"Family businesses have a natural advantage. You think in decades and generations, not quarters. This long-term perspective is essential to economic transformation," AlMazrouei said.

He said ADDED is simplifying business establishment through clearer regulatory requirements, faster processes, and coordination with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, Abu Dhabi Chamber, Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (KEZAD), Abu Dhabi Customs, and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). He flagged food security, healthcare and life sciences, smart manufacturing, AI, logistics, construction, infrastructure, and tourism as expansion sectors.

H.E. Khaled Alfahim, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Family Business Council, said the council visited at least six countries over the past year and observed growing international interest in the emirate. Family enterprises increasingly seek help with governance, restructuring, and succession planning, though implementation remains a hurdle.

"I think most of the Abu Dhabi families are ready mentally. It's a matter of timing. Is it today, tomorrow, when shall I do it?" Alfahim said.

How should families allocate capital?

Akram E. Makarem, managing director and global sector head of Family Groups and Diversified Conglomerates at FAB, argued that family businesses hold one structural edge: time. "Patient capital can allow family businesses to think long-term. But at the same time, patient capital needs to be disciplined capital," he said.

He set out three priorities: reinvest in core businesses that retain competitive advantages, direct part of family capital toward emerging industries, and exit investments that no longer generate sustainable returns. "Exiting a business is not a failure per se. Sometimes monetizing yesterday's successful investment is what will fund your future successful business," Makarem said.

He named AI, digital infrastructure, logistics, and healthcare as growth sectors, cautioning that diversification should rest on relevant expertise and a clear rationale. Banks, he added, must move beyond traditional lending toward acquisition financing, structured finance, capital markets, and global investment networks.

Does family ownership guarantee leadership?

Ghassan Aboud, founder and chairman of Ghassan Aboud Holding, said family ownership should not automatically translate into executive roles. His group operates 145 companies across eight sectors, spanning hospitality, food, logistics, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare after diversifying from automotive trading.

"I don't bring someone in just because they're a member of my family and should be beside me. If my daughter isn't prepared, doesn't have the necessary competence, and hasn't worked for 10 or 15 years, she cannot simply take a position," Aboud said during a fireside chat titled Legacy, Rewritten: The Business of Staying Ahead.

"If my daughter were to lose an entire sector but become a successful businesswoman, I would still consider myself the winner," he said. His daughter Alma described gaining experience in insurance and international trade banking before returning to the business.

Zaid S. Al Khayyat, managing director of Al Khayyat Investments, said transforming a pharmaceutical business founded in the 1960s into a diversified investment group required trust across generations. "Passing it on to the second generation is never easy for a founder, the entrepreneur, to let go and give the reins to his children. But it takes time, it takes trust, it takes you to prove yourself as well," he said.

H.E. Rashed Abdulkarim Al Blooshi, CEO of the Registration Authority at ADGM, said succession demands documented governance, defined voting rights, and agreed procedures for profit distribution and ownership transfer, backed by ADGM's English common law framework for cross-border deals. "Transferring ownership, or continuity, is not a decision taken today and applied tomorrow," Al Blooshi said.

With up to $700 billion moving between GCC generations by 2035, the summit's core message is that families who write the rules now will control how that capital gets deployed.