For high net worth individuals, real estate is a way to preserve wealth, not to chase yield. They own fewer, better properties, spread them across more than one country, buy through advisors and private networks rather than listings, and decide how each property will be held before they sign.
That pattern follows from who these buyers are, how fast their number is growing, and what property is asked to do once a fortune passes a certain size.
Defining High Net Worth: Why the Family Home Is Left Out
The wealth industry’s standard definition is narrow on purpose. Capgemini’s World Wealth Report 2026 counts a high-net-worth individual as someone with USD 1 million or more in investable assets, excluding the primary residence, collectibles, consumables and consumer durables.
The house you live in, however valuable, is not counted as investable wealth. That line matters for property decisions. A home is a place to live. A second property bought as an investment sits on the other side of the line, as an asset judged on risk and return, like shares or a stake in a business.
At the top of the scale, Knight Frank tracks ultra-high-net-worth individuals, people with a total net worth above USD 30 million. The two firms measure different things. Capgemini counts only what can be invested, while Knight Frank counts everything a person owns, homes included. That is why their headcounts for the top tier are so far apart.
| Tier | Threshold | What is counted | Global count |
|---|---|---|---|
| High net worth (Capgemini) | USD 1 million+ | Investable assets, excluding the primary residence | 25.3 million (end-2025) |
| Ultra-high-net-worth (Capgemini) | Capgemini’s ultra-high-net-worth tier | Same investable measure | About 250,000 (2025, up 9.4%) |
| Ultra-high-net-worth (Knight Frank) | Above USD 30 million | Total net worth | 713,626 (2026) |
Sources: Capgemini, World Wealth Report 2026 for the high-net-worth and Capgemini ultra-high-net-worth counts; Knight Frank, The Wealth Report 2026, Wealth Sizing Model for the count above USD 30 million.
A Growing Pool of Investors, a Finite Supply of Prime Property
The number of people who meet that definition keeps rising. Capgemini puts the global high-net-worth population at 25.3 million at the end of 2025. Together they held a record USD 98.3 trillion, up 8.7% in a single year.
UBS’s Global Wealth Report 2026 shows the same pace of wealth accumulation from another angle. Global personal wealth grew 10.8% in 2025, and nearly one million people became USD millionaires, more than 2,600 a day.
The rise is steeper at the top. Knight Frank counts 713,626 people worth more than USD 30 million in 2026, up from 551,435 in 2021, and about 89 more cross that line every day. This is the ultra-wealthy end of the market, one step below the billionaires, and it is the group that competes for the best addresses.
Prime property does not grow at that rate. The best streets, seafronts and branded projects are limited in number, so each new investor at this level adds demand for a stock that barely moves.
Knight Frank’s PIRI 100 index shows the result. Prime prices across its 100 tracked markets rose 3.2% on average in 2025, and 73 of those markets went up. The Middle East led, and Dubai alone recorded 500 home sales above USD 10 million.
The same index also counts 24 markets that fell. Prime properties are not a one-way bet, and a downturn in one city can sit beside a record year in another. For a buyer at this level, the choice of market matters more than the label “luxury”.
How Do High Net Worth Individuals Invest in Real Estate?
Property’s share of the balance sheet shrinks as wealth grows. UBS finds that for households up to the USD 1 to 5 million level, residential property is still the dominant asset. For the affluent, the home is usually the largest part of their wealth.
Higher up, the mix changes. One 2026 survey of 233 wealthy respondents, published by Long Angle, found that investment real estate falls to about 8% of total wealth for people worth more than USD 25 million. Private company equity rises to 21% at the same level. Real estate stays in the portfolio, but it becomes one of several asset classes rather than the whole plan.
In practice, high-net-worth investors tend to follow a few habits:
- Fewer, better properties. Direct ownership of prime homes and branded projects, rather than many average units.
- Property as the stable part. Private equity and listed shares carry the growth, while property carries stability.
- Use as well as return. A home the family will live in for part of the year is judged differently from a pure property investment.
- Preservation over high returns. The aim is to keep capital intact across decades, not to beat the market this year.
Real estate is illiquid, and at this level that is an accepted trade-off. Other parts of the asset allocation provide the liquidity. Property is the part that never needs to be sold in a hurry.
Before any purchase, the first question is often the second home versus investment property decision. The answer shapes the market, the building and the way the property is held.
Why the Wealthy Diversify Across Borders
Wealthy families rarely keep all their property in one country. Political, legal and currency risk all sit with the country where a property is held. Owning in more than one place spreads that exposure, so volatility in one market does not decide the fate of everything the family owns.
Use matters as much as risk. Many buyers want a home where the family spends its holidays, where children study, or where the business has its regional base. For business owners who trade across the Middle East or Africa, a residence in the same region can be a working decision as much as a personal one.
Mobility is the third motive, and two markets have made it concrete. In the UAE, property worth AED 2 million can support a 10-year renewable residence permit through the Dubai Land Department.
In Saudi Arabia, the Non-Saudi Property Ownership System opened ownership in Riyadh and Jeddah to non-Saudis on 22 January 2026. Whether either route suits a family depends on its own circumstances, and a lawyer should confirm it.
Originn’s own clients reflect the same pattern. They are high net worth individuals and institutional investors from Europe, the Middle East and West Africa, along with Moroccans living abroad.
The decision to diversify is only the start; doing it well is a discipline of its own. Our guide to diversifying a property portfolio beyond one market covers it in depth.
Off-Market Access and the Advised Investment
Some of the best property at this level of wealth is never listed publicly. Access to it runs through relationships rather than property portals, and off-market deals go to buyers who are already known.
That is why high-net-worth clients tend to work with an advisor rather than a broker paid on volume. Originn works on a one-to-one model, handling a limited number of projects at once, with a network that reaches exclusive and off-market programs.
That network is built around Marrakech, Originn’s primary market and base, and draws on the firm’s decade-plus history in prestige real estate. The approach is boutique, a deliberate contrast with large volume networks.
The practical question for any buyer is what separates a real estate advisor from an agent. An agent’s work usually ends at the sale. An advisor starts with the buyer’s wider position: the role this property plays, the wealth advisor and lawyers already involved, and how the buyer means to deploy capital across markets.
An advisor also judges a developer on its track record, not its brochure. That is the work of independent real estate advisory: choosing the right market and project before choosing the right unit.
For this buyer, the relationship does not end at signing. Post-acquisition follow-up and real estate asset management keep the property performing and reported on, so the owner sees its cash flow and condition without running it personally. Choosing a management firm is part of the purchase, not an afterthought.
Structure, Holding and Generational Planning
How a property is held matters as much as what it is. It can be owned personally, through a holding company, or in the names of family members. Each choice changes what happens on succession and on sale.
The decision comes before the purchase, not after. It needs a lawyer and an accountant in both countries, because tax in your country of residence, and any double taxation treaty between the two, can change which option makes sense. This is financial advice to take from professionals who know both sides.
Families with larger estates often bring in a family office to coordinate lawyers, accountants and advisors. Estate planning at this level is about more than who inherits. It decides whether heirs receive a property they can use, sell or keep together, and whether the handover to the next generation is smooth or slow.
Financing is a choice at this level, not a need. A buyer at this level can purchase without leverage, and a mortgage, when used, is a decision about where to keep capital working rather than a way to afford the property.
Wealth Preservation, Not Yield-Chasing
The way wealthy families approach property is consistent. Count wealth correctly, and treat the family home as a home. Pick markets, not labels, because prime prices fall in some places while they rise in others.
Use property for wealth preservation, mobility and family, and let other investments carry the growth. Buy through access and advice, and settle how each property is owned years before the heirs need it.
The most common pitfall is treating a prime home as a trade. Private wealth built over decades is protected by patient ownership, and property works best inside a wider wealth management plan rather than beside it.
For high net worth individuals, real estate decisions of this kind start with a conversation, not a listing. If you are weighing a property in Marrakech, arrange a private conversation with an Originn advisor.
Questions Private Buyers Ask About Wealth and Property
What is considered ultra high net worth?
Ultra high net worth usually means total wealth above USD 30 million, the threshold Knight Frank uses in its Wealth Report 2026. By that measure, 713,626 people worldwide were ultra-high-net-worth in 2026, up from 551,435 in 2021. Capgemini’s separate tier leaves out homes and other wealth that cannot be invested, so its count is lower, at about 250,000.
Do ultra high net worth individuals own multiple homes?
Ultra high net worth families commonly own more than one home, and often in more than one country. A second or third residence serves family use, such as holidays or a base near a business. It also spreads political, legal and currency exposure across jurisdictions, which a single home cannot do.
Is luxury real estate a good way to preserve wealth?
Luxury real estate can preserve wealth in the right market, but the market matters more than the label. Knight Frank’s PIRI 100 index found that prime prices rose 3.2% on average in 2025, yet 24 of the 100 markets it tracks fell. Prime property protects wealth when it is chosen carefully and held patiently.
Where do ultra high net worth individuals invest?
Ultra high net worth families spread their wealth widely, and private company equity takes a larger share as wealth rises. One 2026 survey by Long Angle found it reached 21% of total wealth for people worth more than USD 25 million. In property, Knight Frank’s PIRI 100 shows prime demand concentrated in the Middle East in 2025, where Dubai recorded 500 home sales above USD 10 million.
