Dubai Real - Episode 2: Billionaires' Row | Brian Rose

Episode 2 of Dubai Real: on Palm Jumeirah's Billionaires' Row, Brian Rose looks past the luxury to the buyer, who is moving to Dubai and why top-end supply is so scarce. 💰 Source hot AI deals in our Investment Club https://lr.academy/ai-investment-club/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_content=43349089&utm_campaign=ic 🏦 Invest in luxury Dubai property https://lr.academy/property-investment-g/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_content=43349089&utm_campaign=pc 🍿 Watch the full interview with chapters and transcripts for free https://londonreal.tv/dubai-real-episode-2-billionaires-row/ Chapters 0:44 Lessons from Wall Street, 1993 2:34 Catching up with broker Ben 3:01 Why relocating buyers want turnkey homes 3:32 A quiet buy, remodel and resell model 4:38 Heading to Billionaires' Row 5:54 Inside a 200 million dirham mansion 7:00 The basement car gallery 7:52 A thousand-year-old olive tree 8:53 Meeting a concierge for the ultra-rich 11:00 Ferraris, number plates and Birkins 12:02 Mansion versus branded penthouse

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Last week on Dubai Reel, an opportunity landed on my desk. Not traditional real estate, but a luxury transformation.

• 0:11Speaker 00

  I met Chris, an operator in this little-known space.

• 0:16Speaker 01

  I'm gonna take you around and show you what luxury really is.

• 0:20Speaker 00

  I see a real gap in the market here, something that feels almost unbelievable.

• 0:25Speaker 01

  Luxury is defined by scarcity, something that's not readily available.

• 0:30Speaker 00

  In a deal like this, every second counts, leaving no time to hesitate.

• 0:37Speaker 00

  This is Dubai Reel.

• 0:44Speaker 00

  Wall Street, 1993. From the outside, it looked like business. Inside, it was a war. But we didn't fire bullets. We fired information.

• 0:57Speaker 02

  Every battle is won before it's ever fought.

• 1:01Speaker 00

  Every phone call carried consequence. Every meeting tested your edge. Every dinner was a negotiation for power. Money moved at the speed of fear. And that's where I was forged.

• 1:16Speaker 03

  People come and work at this firm for one reason: to become filthy rich. That's it. We're not here to make friends. We're not saving the fucking manatees here, guys. You want vacation time? Go teach third grade public school.

• 1:27Speaker 00

  That's where I learned one unbreakable rule: winners never follow the first emotion. Those are the most lethal.

• 1:35Speaker 02

  I don't throw darts at a board. I bet on sure things.

• 1:41Speaker 00

  That discipline built the nervous system I needed to survive.

• 1:46Speaker 00

  In the last few years, I've deployed over $25 million with surgical precision.

• 1:52Speaker 00

  And here's the real secret: the signals that move markets rarely show up in the headlines. They travel quietly, through closed doors, private dinners, discreet handshakes.

• 2:08Speaker 00

  So I slow things down. I question, and question, and question again.

• 2:22Speaker 00

  Because if you want to understand who's really buying, not the sales pitch, not the marketing brochure, you go to see the OGs.

• 2:34Speaker 00

  There he is, Ben Bundari. How are you, sir?

• 2:36Speaker 04

  How you doing?

• 2:37Speaker 00

  It's good to see you, man.

• 2:38Speaker 04

  Good to see you.

• 2:38Speaker 00

  I got so many questions for you. You got five minutes for me?

• 2:41Speaker 04

  Yeah, of course. Always five minutes for you. Ten minutes.

• 2:43Speaker 00

  Let's do it, man. Let's do it.

• 2:49Speaker 00

  Ben, ever since your episode on London Reel, all I can think about is Dubai property. And I'm here on the ground to deploy some capital. And I'm curious where you think I should look.

• 3:01Speaker 04

  So Europeans, everyone who's looking at relocating and coming here, they walk in with their suitcases. They want full turnkey.

• 3:09Speaker 00

  What does that actually feel like?

• 3:11Speaker 04

  So turnkey is basically where you'll be able to move into your property with your suitcase. The house is ready. It's fully furnished. It's an emotional decision. They walk into the property. They see it. They fall in love with it. And, you know, it's their sanctuary. It's their place where they they build memories together for a lifetime or the coming years.

• 3:32Speaker 00

  How many people know about this?

• 3:34Speaker 04

  We're not advertising or doing any PR. It's been very niche. We have a different investment opportunity, which no one is really offering. We look at data, analytical studies, and we pick the right investment. And then we invest in that property. We purchase it. We have a full-fledged team when it comes to contractors, interior designers, everything from A to Z. We remodel it, and then we put it back onto the market. And it's not something that we're just trying out for the first time. It's been tried and tested. We have had eight ongoing projects, which we've delivered. And we've made good returns for investors as well, anywhere from 30% to 40%.

• 4:12Speaker 00

  Which you're not gonna get

• 4:13Speaker 04

  Which you're not gonna get.

• 4:14Speaker 00

  off-plan.

• 4:14Speaker 04

  I mean, and it's a quick exit as well. And for the people who do want a quick exit and return within anywhere from 18 to 24 months, then this is for you.

• 4:25Speaker 00

  Well, I'm gonna go look at these properties. I'm gonna learn more about this niche. Thank you for the opportunity.

• 4:29Speaker 04

  No, it's my pleasure. And let me know what you think of the properties.

• 4:32Speaker 00

  I will, man. I will. To be continued.

• 4:34Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 4:34Speaker 00

  Thanks, Ben.

• 4:35Speaker 04

  Yes, sir.

• 4:38Speaker 00

  Ben sent me to Palm Jamira, to a street called Billionaires Row, one of the most exclusive addresses on Earth.

• 4:48Speaker 00

  But I wasn't there for the luxury. I wanted to understand the buyer, who they were, why they were moving here, and what was motivating the purchase. Because that's where the real signal lives, not in the properties, but in the psychology of the people buying them.

• 5:14Speaker 00

  Now this is my kind of place.

• 5:43Speaker 00

  Damn.

• 5:45Speaker 00

  Now this is the next level.

• 5:54Speaker 00

  What does this thing go for? What's it worth?

• 5:57Speaker 01

  It's just over $200 million down.

• 5:58Speaker 00

  $200 million derms. So that's about $55 million. This is the ultra-luxury. This is next level.

• 6:08Speaker 01

  There's probably been like 30 houses ever built to this level.

• 6:11Speaker 00

  Okay, ever.

• 6:12Speaker 01

  Ever.

• 6:12Speaker 00

  And how many of them will be on the market at any one time?

• 6:16Speaker 01

  If you're lucky, there'll be three at the same time. There's demand, but no supply. It's crazy. What a problem to have.

• 6:24Speaker 00

  Right?

• 6:25Speaker 01

  Welcome to Dubai.

• 6:25Speaker 00

  Okay, man. All right. Show me, man. Show me.

• 6:33Speaker 01

  You have all the furnitures, either Menotti, Polyform, Remedatio. You have some stuff.

• 6:40Speaker 01

  And then this kitchen is an example of a branded kitchen. So this is all Polyform from Italy, all Gaggenau, which is sort of standard when you're doing such level of furniture.

• 6:50Speaker 00

  That's an espresso machine, microwave, oven.

• 6:58Speaker 00

  This is crazy next level, is what this is.

• 7:00Speaker 01

  Yeah. That's what we delivered. Crazy next level.

• 7:05Speaker 01

  Basement is a car gallery and a cinema room.

• 7:12Speaker 01

  Air conditioning in the car showroom.

• 7:15Speaker 00

  Right.

• 7:15Speaker 01

  Because like people who have Bugattis and Rolls Royces and one-of-ones, man, sorry, is like the car needs to breathe and it has a little air conditioner.

• 7:24Speaker 00

  Also, you don't wanna go from a cool house to a hot garage.

• 7:27Speaker 01

  Correct.

• 7:28Speaker 00

  You want the garage to be nice as well.

• 7:29Speaker 01

  Correct.

• 7:30Speaker 00

  And this is just a dope lighting effect to make the whole place not feel like a garage.

• 7:34Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 7:35Speaker 00

  And it's a showroom.

• 7:36Speaker 01

  It is.

• 7:36Speaker 00

  Because you wanna see your beautiful cars.

• 7:38Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 7:38Speaker 00

  A car gallery.

• 7:39Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 7:39Speaker 00

  That's an ultra-luxury term, car gallery.

• 7:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 7:52Speaker 01

  People measure a house by how old their olive tree is. And this one is almost 1,000 years old.

• 7:57Speaker 00

  1,000-year-old olive tree.

• 8:00Speaker 01

  So to prove the age of it, it comes with a passport. It's shipped in from Italy. Like, you can go on about the details. It's ridiculous.

• 8:21Speaker 01

  And then you got this detail coming across. And this is Antonio Lupe bathtub. The architect is very sophisticated. He put this little slotting inside the facade. So from here, you get the view of Royal Lettuce.

• 8:40Speaker 00

  That's intentional.

• 8:41Speaker 01

  Intentional.

• 8:42Speaker 00

  Geez, that's sweet. I've been around. I've been in nice places. I've been in nice hotels. But this is the next level.

• 8:53Speaker 00

  Chris had arranged a meeting with someone very special: Kareem Garbi. In Dubai, everyone knows that name.

• 9:03Speaker 00

  He's built a reputation anticipating what the ultra-wealthy wants before they ever ask for it, curating experiences for the 1% of the 1%.

• 9:16Speaker 00

  This is the level where the ultra-rich operate, where attention to detail isn't optional. Because at that level, perfection isn't expected, it's required.

• 9:29Speaker 00

  Here, there is simply no margin for error.

• 9:37Speaker 01

  I brought Brian.

• 9:38Speaker 05

  Yes, Brian, how are you?

• 9:39Speaker 00

  Nice to meet you.

• 9:40Speaker 01

  Great to meet you too. How do you do?

• 9:42Speaker 00

  I'm doing good, I'm doing good.

• 9:43Speaker 05

  Welcome to, uh, don't call this a house, dude. What do you call this?

• 9:46Speaker 00

  I don't know.

• 9:47Speaker 05

  Mega mansion?

• 9:47Speaker 00

  It's not a mansion, it's like, it's like another level.

• 9:50Speaker 05

  It is heaven.

• 9:51Speaker 01

  You know, when you come to Dubai, there's a lot of like hidden gems, right? Stuff that they don't know about. So that's where Kareem comes in.

• 9:57Speaker 00

  Fascinating, like, most people don't even know that this service exists, or that people would need this service.

• 10:02Speaker 05

  You say service is a great example, because if you buy a Toyota, and you take it to a service, you know, there's a type of service. When you buy a hypercar, there's a different type of service. So basically, the quickest example I can give you, when you're checking into a hotel, you want to make a normal restaurant booking. You call the concierge and the concierge at the hotel. So we are exactly the same principle. But for mega mansions like this, when they call us, they don't want to make the restaurant booking. They want the head chef from Nobu to come from Japan and cook for them at their house, in those type of kitchens. So the demands are often not normal.

• 10:44Speaker 05

  Sometimes art pieces that are valued to the same value of this house, which is over 200 million, they just want them to be shipped here for the day. And you just say yes and make it happen. We don't judge, we just deliver.

• 10:54Speaker 01

  Yes, exactly.

• 11:00Speaker 00

  If I'm someone who just bought this house, and I come in, in the first two weeks, what are some of the requests that you might typically get?

• 11:08Speaker 05

  I tell you, first, they don't want to drive a normal Ferrari. They usually, to this caliber, they would want a limited edition. Then, it comes after that, the number plate. They won't be driving a number, normal number plate. It will be number five, number up to 99, will be good 111.

• 11:29Speaker 00

  And that's what maybe the man wants. What does the woman want?

• 11:32Speaker 05

  They want, I can tell you, the first thing is the Birkins. They want the collection of the Birkins, because that wardrobe there, you need, you need about 50 Birkins to fill it up. To get one Birkin, you need to have a, it's a waiting list usually of years. So they call us, and we just make sure, before they move in, the entire wardrobe is full.

• 11:51Speaker 00

  I thought you were gonna say it was the kid's school that was most important.

• 11:54Speaker 05

  Oh, no, no, no, no.

• 11:56Speaker 05

  You are in Dubai, you know that?

• 12:02Speaker 00

  You know, I was just down at Benghadi, and they got this brand-new Mercedes complex, right? 11 buildings, they got the Bugatti building, you know, that just sold out, this really expensive penthouse. And you got all this other off-plan luxury. How is that different? How is that buyer different, and that experience different, from something like this?

• 12:20Speaker 05

  Can't you not see the difference? You're part of the complex. You're part of the complex, even if it's a penthouse. You're here in the grounds, you have a home. You have an institution, you have a legacy. That's something you can keep for you. You can't compare any penthouse. And I do personally love penthouses, right? But it's for a certain caliber of people. This is old money, this is institution, this is the legacy, this is the people you want to invite back to your home. This is a statement.

• 12:48Speaker 00

  They had identified a very specific niche: ultra-high net worth individuals relocating permanently to Dubai. And they built something around that demand.

• 12:59Speaker 01

  I always talk about the real estate boom and everything that's being produced, but it's all mass-produced commercial, which is the reason why we said, "Look, this is a huge niche in the market."

• 13:10Speaker 00

  Because this wasn't a product just anyone could assemble. The caliber of luxury expertise required, well, it's extremely rare in Dubai. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

• 13:21Speaker 05

  Your home says everything about you. With Dubai, you need to stand out.

• 13:26Speaker 00

  In Dubai, you have to stand out. I know, I know a bunch of the crypto bros, and there's a crypto billionaire I know who's got a Bugatti. And the other day, he parked his Bugatti, and he came into the garage, and I think that next to him, there was like a fleet of Bugattis. And he posted on Instagram, and he said, "In Dubai, there's always someone with a bigger one."

• 13:45Speaker 05

  Yes, that's right.

• 13:49Speaker 00

  My engineer's mind started scanning for weaknesses. But there were very few cracks in the model. Because in Dubai, I had found something unusual: massive demand, and very limited ultra-luxury supply.

• 14:06Speaker 00

  Last question, you know, I live in London, I've lived in New York City and LA, and places all over the world. How is Dubai different?

• 14:16Speaker 05

  Without exaggerating, I think Dubai is the center of the universe right now. It's very simple. If you're not in Dubai, there is something wrong. Especially for the ultra-high net worth. If you don't have your business here, and you're not spending at least half the year...

• 14:31Speaker 00

  Because this is where business is getting done.

• 14:33Speaker 05

  This is where business is gonna, and this is the future. You put your money here, boom, you invest. Six months later, it increased by 35%. Where can you do that? New York used to be the big apple. The big apple is here right now. And let's forget about this London and LA or something. We find you a nice pad, we create a nice lifestyle for you, he finds you the nice villa, okay? And we'll have you here with us.

• 14:55Speaker 00

  That's amazing, thank you, Kareem.

• 14:57Speaker 05

  You definitely have the style for someone that should be in Dubai, right? Yes! My pleasure.

• 15:02Speaker 01

  Always a pleasure.

• 15:03Speaker 05

  Good to see you. Okay, to the next adventure.

• 15:05Speaker 00

  Thank you, man. Appreciate that.

• 15:06Speaker 05

  My pleasure. See ya.

• 15:09Speaker 00

  So, I understand things I never understood before, okay? Talking to someone like Kareem, and seeing this place with you, I mean, man, I'm starting to think differently here. So, yeah, to be continued.

• 15:26Speaker 00

  On Wall Street, we used to say, "A good deal is like a man or a woman. It's either hot, or it's not." You don't need a spreadsheet to tell you. I had a good feeling about this opportunity, but I also had some major concerns. Unfortunately, time is running out. My investors want to deploy capital now. So the pressure is on for me to deliver.

• 15:52Speaker 00

  Next week on Dubai Real, I step inside Atlantis the Royal, one of the most iconic buildings in Dubai.

• 16:00Speaker 01

  Look, I know we came to do business, but we need to take in this view, right?

• 16:05Speaker 00

  The stakes are getting higher, but I keep pushing forward. What I've found through 15, 20 years of investing, it's the structure that actually makes sure you get those incredible, incredible results for your investors. And I begin breaking down the structure of the deal, piece by piece. Because if everything lines up, there is a lot of money to be made here.