Dubai-based investor aims to retire before 40 with Dh25 million property portfolio

For nine years after buying his first property in the UAE, Shabbash Khan never lived in any of his homes. He rented a flat while his assets grew in value, reinvested rental income and used the equity to acquire more properties. Last month, he finally moved into one of his own homes for the first time.

A Deliberate Property Strategy

Khan, 35, works as a performance director at a digital media agency. He owns eight properties across three emirates — five in Dubai, two in Abu Dhabi and one in Sharjah — with a combined value of approximately Dh25 million. His net worth is close to Dh10 million. He says he has already set a retirement date: before turning 40.

Asked how money featured in his childhood, Khan said he learned to distinguish between what is important and what is not. Impulse buying and showing off, he said, lead nowhere. “Rich people are not defined by a fancy home or fancy car. Rich people have time at their disposal. If tomorrow you have to wake up and go to the office, then you’re not rich. You might be earning Dh30,000, Dh50,000, Dh100,000 – and if you are just one pay cheque away from bankruptcy, you’re not rich.”

He added that as one grows older, time and family connections become more important than working for someone else. “If you trade time, you can never win that game. Everybody – Elon Musk, yourself, myself – everybody has 24 hours. The universe has made it a point. How come one person runs five different companies, and the other person lives pay cheque to pay cheque?”

From First Job to First Million

Khan started his career as a marketing executive at a digital agency in India. He described his salary as “peanuts” — less than 1,000 rupees — and said he no longer remembers the exact figure.

When he arrived in Dubai, his father lent him some money for expenses. Khan saw the city as a land of opportunity. Comparing India and the UAE, he noticed that investments in Dubai yielded much higher returns. “A simple thing is the currency peg – UAE currency is pegged to dollars, and the rupee is relatively flat. Even if I keep the currency in dirhams, I’m still making more money than in India.”

He then considered what to do with his savings. Rental returns in the UAE were far superior. “India gives me two or three per cent; UAE easily gives me six to eight per cent. So in the first two years, whatever money I had saved, I invested in real estate.”

Khan still holds the same single job. “If you look at my salary increase over the years, that’s hardly anything. But if you look at my portfolio today, I hold Dh26 million worth of property in UAE. And close to Dh10 million I own – that is my net worth.” He noted that the first million was the hardest to achieve, coming from salary, savings, a personal loan and incoming cash. The second and third million came relatively faster. “Salary increases at a marginal pace, but when you hold so many properties, even if every property increases little by little, your portfolio gets built up.”

Best Investment and Cherished Purchases

Khan considers real estate his best investment. “I know some people have found their niche in crypto, some in gold. But for me – focus on something that you cannot make. Be it gold, be it real estate, which you cannot make more of. Stick to that. That value will definitely increase. So I would suggest gold and real estate as the primary ones.”

He admitted to once wanting fancy cars and bought a BMW, a childhood dream. “Trust me, it is more expensive than what I imagined. It just takes me from point A to point B. I realised that after two years of having a BMW.” What he cherishes most is having a roof over his head. “The emotional satisfaction and guarantee it gives you.”

Khan cherished buying his first property. He owned multiple properties before turning 30. His advice: “Start early. If you start at 40, you will never be ahead of the race the way you are if you do it in your 20s.”

Advice to His Younger Self

Khan offered two pieces of advice. First, read books. “Your experience is not enough to sustain you in this world. It is highly important that you read more, and try to understand other people’s philosophy.” Second, do everything passionately. “If you wake up early in the morning and do something just for the sake of it, I don’t think you can go anywhere.”