Blackstone opens DIFC office to boost wealth management business in the Gulf

Show caption: Blackstone says its new DIFC office will build on its long-s…

New base in Dubai adds to company's presence in ADGM

• Blackstone has opened a wealth management office in DIFC, establishing Dubai as a regional hub for the world's largest alternative investment manager.
• The nearly $1.4-trillion firm has already built more than 40 distributor relationships across the Gulf, targeting affluent individuals, institutions and family offices.
• Blackstone has committed more capital to the Gulf in the past 12 months than at any point in its history, with plans to invest further despite the ongoing US-Iran conflict.
• The company plans to open an office in Kuwait and has upgraded its Abu Dhabi licence, signalling a broad regional expansion strategy.
• "The UAE has built an extraordinary position as a global finance and investment hub and is becoming an increasingly important center for wealth management," said Blackstone's president and chief operating officer.

Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative investment manager, has expanded its footprint in the UAE with the launch of a wealth management office in Dubai International Financial Centre.

The new outpost in Dubai’s onshore financial centre will serve as the regional hub for the nearly $1.4-trillion investor, which looks to court the wealthy, as well as institutions and family offices, to boost growth of its wealth management business in the Gulf and beyond, it said on Thursday.

“The UAE has built an extraordinary position as a global finance and investment hub and is becoming an increasingly important centre for wealth management,” said Jon Gray, Blackstone's president and chief operating officer.

The company has been present in the UAE since 2010 and Mr Gray said the new Dubai office builds on that long-standing commitment, allowing the company to “deepen our partnerships and broaden access to alternatives” for investors.

The DIFC office adds to the Blackstone’s presence in the Abu Dhabi’s financial centre ADGM and expands its reach across the oil-rich Gulf region as well as the broader Middle East.

Blackstone’s private wealth business aims to build on its partnerships with leading banking institutions in the region and has already established more than 40 distributor relationships across the region.

Blackstone is the latest among global investors and money managers to set up a base in the UAE or expand presence in the Arab world’s second-largest economy as they look to capitalise on rapidly growing wealth management market in the region.

Both DIFC and ADGM have attracted a steady stream of global financial institutions, and trillion-dollar dollar asset managers over past few quarters despite the geopolitical headwinds.

Blackstone has already committed more capital to the Gulf region in the past 12 months than at any point in its history and it plans to invest more despite the continuing US-Iran conflict, its chief executive Steve Schwarzman told The National last month.

Despite the months-long war, the investment appeal of the Gulf remains intact and the company aims to substantially grow the percentage of its assets under management in the Gulf by the turn of this decade, he said at the time.

Blackstone has already upgraded its Abu Dhabi office licence to boost deal origination in the region. It also plans to open an office in Kuwait and expects to further expand its presence across the region over the coming year, the company said on Thursday.

Updated:

November 12, 2026, 8:20 AM