Gulf News reported that 3.3% of Middle East respondents rated the families they advise as fully prepared for a sale or transfer in the 2026 Julius Baer-EY Family Barometer.
A further 26.7% of Middle East respondents rated the families they advise as unready, compared with 29.5% of respondents globally. The largest share of Middle East respondents, 58.3%, rated the families they advise as somewhat prepared but still facing gaps; 11.7% rated them largely ready, with minor gaps. The Barometer’s broader context is concentrated ownership: Gulf News said more than four in five ultra-high-net-worth families worldwide hold at least half of their operating company.
Julius Baer said family alignment over whether to sell was the most frequently cited obstacle to readiness worldwide, ahead of tax considerations, governance and legal structures. In the Middle East, younger relatives had a greater role in carrying out plans after a sale: 16.7% of respondents said the next generation had an equal say, compared with 12.3% globally. Another 45% said younger family members were consulted but did not have a vote, and no regional respondents reported excluding successors, Gulf News said.
After a sale, 33.3% of regional respondents said families were more likely to establish investment committees made up only of family members, versus 24.3% globally. Ad hoc investment decisions were less common in the region, at 18.3%, than worldwide, at 26.7%.
Emotional attachment to a business was cited by 56.7% of regional respondents as a source of misalignment over an exit; differing views of the company’s future were cited by 55%, and valuation expectations by 60%. Globally, emotional attachment led the list at 60.6%. EconoTimes previously covered valuation disagreements in Asian family-business exits.
Real estate ranked second among the region’s investment priorities, ahead of its third-place global ranking; inflation protection also made the regional top three, while geopolitical diversification led the list. Political stability topped societal concerns in the Middle East, intergenerational wealth transfer ranked second, and personal safety entered the top three for the first time.
“Succession has moved to the centre of our conversations with clients,” said Jean Pierre Dib, Co-Head Middle East & Africa at Julius Baer. The findings reflect advisers’ assessments of the families they advise, rather than responses from the families themselves.
