Michael Belton, chief executive of property development company Mered, grows his wealth by spotting attractive opportunities in real estate and investing in them early on.
The American, 55, who was born and raised in Alaska, worked in Russia for more than 20 years and has been in the UAE for six months now.
He graduated from the University of Massachusetts in arts and political science and went to Russia on a foreign exchange programme and “fell in love with everything there”.
Mr Belton started working for Hines, America's largest property development company, in 1993, and was with them for eight years in Russia. He started as a leasing consultant and ended as the head of development after 10 years.
He also had a short stint in Saudi Arabia, where he worked for the giga project Qiddiya as head of development for one of their business units.
“The parent company of Mered is headquartered in Russia and has been involved in real estate development for 25 years, predominantly in residential real estate, and built more than three million square metres of space,” he says.
“They saw the market in Dubai as one where they could add value with their expertise. They are a master developer like Aldar and Emaar and have the capabilities and cash flow to expand in a new market.”
Mered is currently developing three properties, one in Dubai and two in Abu Dhabi, with a total sales value of $1.4 billion.
“Since my arrival in October as chief executive of Mered, we have sold $120 million worth of apartments in Dubai,” says Mr Belton, who lives in Dubai’s Bluewaters Island with his wife and a daughter.
Did wealth feature in your childhood? What did you learn from it?
I grew up in a middle-class American family with hard-working parents. We had enough for the essentials. I admired my wealthy New York relatives and learnt that dressing smartly could positively influence people's impression of me. I learnt the value of money and education by seeing them and going out with them.
How did you first earn? What did your first job pay?
Like most Americans, my first job was when I was 12, delivering newspapers. My first professional job was with Hines in Moscow, earning $1,500 a month.
Did you face any early financial jolts?
No, I'm a very curious person, so the harder I worked, the more responsibilities I was given and the more I was able to earn. I've received consistent salary increases through promotions due to hard work.
There are always cycles in the real estate market, but I've somehow been shielded from many of them.
How do you grow your wealth?
As we are in the business of residential real estate, we understand where the market is headed. So, I'm able to buy in early at a good price to get attractive investments that I take advantage of. I hire financial managers to reinvest those profits.
Real estate development is a more high-risk profile, but that's why the returns are usually 30 per cent to 40 per cent on my investment.
I also have a very wide investment portfolio, which is preserved more for growth and not for quick returns. My financial managers aim to offer me 6 per cent to 8 per cent returns, so it’s a very different risk profile, and it's something that is more generational for me as an investment.
Are you a spender or a saver?
I am neither, instead, I am an earner. I'm more focused and interested in finding ways to earn money. I reinvest earnings in short-term, mid-term and retirement vehicles.
As far as saving, I try to save money every month and invest it. I'm not a shopper.
Have you been wise with money?
I believe so. You make some mistakes, you make some good choices. But overall, when I see what I started with and where I am now, what I'm able to pass on to my children, I would say, it’s been pretty good.
What has been your best investment?
Investing in myself and my business, specifically purchasing properties I develop. I founded my own business in 2007 called Storm Properties and sold it to one of the largest home builders in Europe in 2008. The majority of my wealth is created due to the sale of that company.
I don't have a goal to become a billionaire. It's not my thing. Financially, I've hit all the goals that I set for myself
Michael Belton,
chief executive, Mered
Any cherished purchases?
No. I value people and experiences over physical possessions like cars or jewellery.
I'm not attached to houses, apartments or cars. I have many of them, but when I sell them, I don't have much attachment to them.
How do you feel about money?
It's an important tool to provide comfort to my family and me, especially in later years. The more money you make is not equivalent to how happy you are as a person. Many people have lots of money and are miserable, and some people have no money and they're happy.
Any financial advice for your younger self?
Start investing in residential properties earlier. I wish I had bought my first property when I was 25 years old. Many of them cost $50,000 then and five years later, they were worth around $500,000 to $600,000.
Also, maximise pension contributions to take advantage of tax-deferred retirement products. I always maximised my 401(k). By putting in maybe $300 to $400 a month when you are younger, you don't notice the money going out. But after doing it for 25 years, there's millions of dollars in my pension fund because of that.
What luxuries are important to you?
Flying business class, staying in five-star hotels and enjoying dinners with friends without budget limits. It's not necessarily to go out and buy a new Patek Philippe watch or a new Lamborghini, but I derive pleasure out of these comforts for me, my family and friends.
Any key financial milestones?
Becoming a millionaire by age 35.
What are your financial goals?
I'm 55 years old and fairly wealthy. My goal is to continue to grow my family's income to pass on to the next generation. I don't have a goal to become a billionaire. It's not my thing. Financially, I've hit all the goals that I set for myself. Right now, I’m at the age where legacy is more important for me.
I'm a real estate developer, so I want to build beautiful projects, which will stand for many years after I'll be gone. I enjoy taking my children around to see a project when the foundation is being poured, and then, when the building's up, they come back five years later and say: “Wow, my dad built that.” That's my goal. It's not financial anymore.
I also own three properties. I plan to maintain two to four properties, buying and selling as market conditions allow. I aim to own a property at a ski resort in Switzerland or Montana.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
Premier League results
Saturday
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Arsenal 1
Bournemouth 0 Manchester City 1
Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Huddersfield Town 0
Burnley 1 Crystal Palace 3
Manchester United 3 Southampton 2
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Cardiff City 0
West Ham United 2 Newcastle United 0
Sunday
Watford 2 Leicester City 1
Fulham 1 Chelsea 2
Everton 0 Liverpool 0
Scoreline:
Cardiff City 0
Liverpool 2
Wijnaldum 57', Milner 81' (pen)
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on animal trafficking
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
More on animal trafficking
More on animal trafficking
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
The years Ramadan fell in May
Schedule:
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
The five pillars of Islam
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The years Ramadan fell in May
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
