Abu Dhabi’s ADIA joins sovereign wealth’s $1 trillion club

As 2024 careens to its close – with financial markets jumping even as geopolitical conflicts multiply – Gulf sovereign wealth funds continue to pile up assets.

Leading the way has been ADIA, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which entered the elite $1 trillion club this year with assets reaching $1.06 trillion – trailing only Norway and China – the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute reports.

Among regional neighbors close to joining the club, the Kuwait Investment Authority holds $980 billion in assets and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has about $950 billion. The Qatar Investment Authority stands at $530 billion, according to the SWF ranking.

In Abu Dhabi, a regional center for investing sovereign wealth, Mubadala trails ADIA with $330 billion, followed by ADQ with $250 billion.

UAE President heading for Washington to meet with Biden

When UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed visits the White House next week, advisers say his focus will be on economic and technology ties, though dipping into the geopolitical conflicts wracking the Middle East is inevitable.

The Emirati leader’s meeting with President Joe Biden will be his first in Washington since assuming the UAE Presidency in May 2022. The two also met at the 2023 G20 summit in New Delhi and in Jeddah the previous year.

Dr. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to Sheikh Mohammed, said during a briefing in Dubai that the trip, which starts Monday, will be concentrated on economic relations and how to “realign our relationship with America for the next 10 years,” The National reports.

“The main purpose of the visit, from an Emirati perspective, is investing in our future, and that’s through an economic lens and through a real realignment with what’s happening in AI and in technology,” Gargash said.