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Villas on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 

Villas on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 

Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg
Wealth
The Big Take

Abramovich’s Dubai House Hunt Shows Russian Diaspora Widening

Chelsea owner’s private jet was spotted in Dubai, as the sanction-free Middle-Eastern city state attracts Russians.

In Dubai’s swankiest neighborhoods, property brokers say inquiries from Russians looking for villas and apartments are skyrocketing. Among them: Roman Abramovich, the tycoon who owns Chelsea Football Club. 

While the Russian billionaire’s present whereabouts aren’t publicly known, he has in recent weeks been house hunting on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, a man-made, palm-shaped island dotted with luxury residences, according to people familiar with the matter.