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In 2014, The Algemeiner reported:

Pan-Arab London based paper, Asharq al Awsat, which is considered a reliable media outlet, recently ran a story saying there are 600 millionaires in Gaza.

The same claim was cited in a 2012 report by Gatestone institute:

But according to an investigative report published in the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, there are at least 600 millionaires living in the Gaza Strip.

Were there 600 millionaires in Gaza in 2012?

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    In what currency?
    – liftarn
    Mar 31, 2017 at 7:11
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    That would be a very low number of millionaires... Gaza has ~1,850,000 inhabitants. Globally, about 0.6% of the population are (USD) millionaires. By that token, 11,100 millionaires in Gaza would be (globally) average... so, why do you doubt that there are 600 or more?
    – DevSolar
    Mar 31, 2017 at 7:27
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    Millionaires are not exactly evenly distributed over the globe though.
    – TheMathemagician
    Mar 31, 2017 at 9:05
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    @SalvadorDali: No, that's not what I am saying. But the claim makes it sound as if it were in some kind outrageous that the "impoverished" Gaza strip has "as many" as 600 millionaires. I wanted to point out that this is well below the global average, quite in tune with an "impoverished" neighbourhood...
    – DevSolar
    Mar 31, 2017 at 9:45
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    Also remember that poor countries do not necessarily have less millionaires than rich countries, as poor countries often have dramatically higher income inequality. 600 millionaires in Gaza does not sound surprising
    – gerrit
    Mar 31, 2017 at 20:34

1 Answer 1

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No, there are more than 600 millionaires.

According to Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf, as of 2014, there were 1,700 Hamas millionaires in Gaza.

See also the 2013 article Gaza's New Millionaires

How about an increasing number of millionaires, their fortunes fuelled by skyrocket prices for mansions and lavish villas. Seyi Rhodes has latest on the worlds' most unlikely property boom.

REPORTER: Seyi Rhodes

REPORTER: Do you bring your family to the beach?

ESSAM MORTJA, REAL ESTATE AGENT: Yes.

REPORTER: Yeah?

ESSAM MORTJA: Yes, but usually in the morning.

For Essam Mortja, the Mediterranean is just a short walk from home, he is an estate agent and property developer and given his location, he thinks he is onto a winner.

ESSAM MORTJA: Where in the world like this? Where?

But this is Gaza, under Israeli siege and every few years there is a war. Essam says forget about all of that. The property business is on a roll.

ESSAM MORTJA (Translation): There's been a boom. Business has never been so good.

Essam shows off some of the glitzy property he has helped to sell. In downtown Gaza, the prices have trebled in four years.

ESSAM MORTJA (Translation): That's also $3 million. This is $1million and a half

...

Essam was born into one of Gaza's wealther families. His dad was in property too. He has spent his life chasing deals.

ESSAM MORTJA (Translation): How much is he asking for it? $2,000 per square metre. Someone just called me about a property sale. He wants;about 2 million for it, dollars.

There aren't many people in Gaza with that sort of cash but Essam knows most of them. The property is a holiday village on the beach, within a few hours Essam has a potential buyer.

MUHNIR LORKA (Translation): How much is it?

ESSAM MORTJA (Translation): Two million dollars.

Still, 1,700 millionaires is only about 0.1% millionaires. The USA has about 4% millionaires for comparison according to this article

Credit Suisse says that Gaza has in the range of $5,000 to $25,000 of wealth per adult.

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  • But what is Ahmad Assaf's source for the claim? In 2014 it had been eight years since Fatah operated in Gaza so how could he have known how many millionaires there were in the territory?
    – Stand with Gaza
    Jan 4, 2021 at 9:02

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