In the lobby of the Four Seasons Abu Dhabi, steps from the offices of billionaires Ray Dalio and Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, men in white thobes and tailored suits cluster in hushed conversations around low tables strewn with small cups of Arabic coffee. The hotel’s lounge space is limited, and for good reason: it has become the region’s nerve center for the obscure world of private capital.
“Every Tom, Dick and Harry around the world is trying to get here,” said Ryan Lemand, co-founder and CEO of Abu Dhabi-based Neovision Wealth Management. “It’s like the gold rush.”
About 86 miles away on the Persian Gulf coast in Dubai, the scene could hardly be more different.
