Along with Asia's top sovereign wealth funds, the SWFs of Middle East manages a combined total of more than US$3 trillion in assets. Most of these sovereign wealth funds originated from oil revenues in these oil-rich countries. In recent years, as the price of an oil barrel slumped, these funds come into play, helping the governments cope with deficits in budgets and excess expenditures.

Of the top ten sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates SWFs account for five of the top ten - namely, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA - US$828 billion in assets), Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD - US$209 billion in assets), Mubadala Investment Company (MDC - US$125 billion in assets), Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC - US$110 billion in assets) and the Emirates Investment Authority (EIA - US$34 billion in assets).