Wealthy expats are paying premiums to send their kids to Dubai’s top schools, paying up to USD 33k a year due to the lack of accessible public schools for foreigners, which are reserved for Emiratis, Bloomberg reported on Sunday. With expats making up 90% of the population, over 80% of families in the emirate end up spending a third of their income on tuition.

One of the big beneficiaries of the rising demand for private schooling has been Gems Education, which operates 44 schools in the UAE and others in Qatar and the UK. The operator is also looking into expanding into Saudi Arabia, the business information service says.

The company’s annual revenues come in at more than USD 1.2 bn, CEO Dino Varkey told Bloomberg, adding that a de-regulation of fees would make it an even more lucrative industry for foreign investors. The founding family, India’s Varkeys, are now estimated to control USD 3.7 bn, according to Bloomberg’s B’naire Index.

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