For a few months this summer, parts of Britain’s billionaire economy were back to business-as-usual.
Amid scorching heat in the Middle East, London once again became an outpost for the Gulf elite, continuing an annual custom that helps project their influence in the West and allows an escape to cooler climes. The ruler of Dubai was seen at Harrods, other Middle East royals flocked to equestrian events, while the head of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund attended football matches.
They were joined by a well-heeled cast of ministers and tycoons who thronged to the city, filling up some its most ...