British tycoon charters £150,000 personal jet to get him out of war-torn UAE (regardless of claiming Dubai is completely secure) and says ‘it is so easy, I do not know why everybody is not doing it’

A self-proclaimed property ‘guru’ who insisted Dubai is ‘safer than London‘ has been mocked online after boasting he chartered a ‘£150,000’ private jet out of the emirate and telling followers: ‘I don’t know why everyone is not doing this’.

Samuel Leeds, who sells controversial get-rich-quick training courses online, shared videos from aboard a Gulfstream jet as he headed for Heathrow – while insisting the missile-hit Gulf state was ‘not even dangerous’.

The investor, 34, who once said he moved to the United Arab Emirates to avoid paying ‘99.9% of my taxes’ and claims to have a £20m portfolio, was condemned by critics over the ’embarrassingly crude’ social media posts.

Others accused him of flaunting wealth while thousands of ordinary holidaymakers battle flight cancellations in a desperate scramble to come home.

Leeds’ boasts come amid a wider wave of influencers defending Dubai online, with many insisting the city remains the ‘safest place on Earth’ – despite Iranian missile and suicide drone strikes hitting targets across the Gulf.

Influencers are allegedly terrified to speak openly for arrest or losing their homes. Under UAE laws damaging the country’s reputation can carry fines of up to £200,000 or prison sentences of up to five years – followed by deportation.

While frightened holidaymakers continue to scramble for flights, Leeds posted videos online suggesting they simply follow his lead by paying for a private jet.

He said: ‘If you’re trapped in Dubai, it’s very simple.

‘Drive three hours to Oman, and then when you’re in Oman, go down to the Muscat airport, and there’s literally planes waiting for you.

‘You can pay about £100,000, jump on a plane, and it’ll take you straight to Heathrow.

I don’t know why everyone’s not doing this.’

Father-of-four Leeds, from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, then played down the risk from attacks overhead – despite previously telling how he was ‘trapped…with missiles flying over our home’.

He claimed the real reason for his sudden departure and six-figure bill was to run a ‘networking meeting’.

Leeds added: ‘To be honest, it’s not even dangerous in Dubai.

‘There’s more people being stabbed in England, and being shot in America, than getting hit with drones in Dubai.

‘Right, so the only reason we’re going is because I’ve got business to take care of, and my flight was cancelled. So stay in Dubai, but if you do need to leave, just do this.’

In another post, he doubled down on his claim that Dubai remains safe, adding: ‘If you have the money then getting a jet out of Dubai isn’t a problem.

‘Don’t believe everything you see in the media.

‘I’m a global citizen with multiple residencies and bank accounts.

‘I have true freedom to be anywhere at any time.’

Leeds, a former magician whose investment courses have been described by experts as promoting tax loopholes that may not exist, has been mercilessly mocked online.

One critic wrote on Facebook: ‘I don’t care how wealthy you are that is a ridiculous amount to pay for a flight, and to shout about it is embarrassingly crude.’

Another said: ‘If Dubai was so safe, how come you’re taking your wife and your children out of the country while bombs are going off?

‘Would you not rather keep them in safe Dubai while you travel to dangerous England?’

A third dismissed Leeds’ social media posturing as ‘the Dubai equivalent of tagging yourself at the gym’.

Posting pictures of himself and his family inside the jet, Leeds wrote: ‘It was very easy for me to charter this jet back to England.

‘It did cost over £150K, but for me, it was a no-brainer not to let anyone down.’

Days earlier he had told of his fears at being ‘trapped’ in Dubai as Iranians bombarded the skies with more than 800 drones and almost 200 missiles. Three people are known to have died, with around 68 people injured.

Leeds wrote: ‘I am trapped in Dubai right now, with missiles flying over our home and the sound of constant explosions. ‘It’s unnerving especially with small children and a family;

However, two days later he insisted: ‘Dubai is perfectly safe – one of the world’s safest cities.

‘The media are lying about the state of Dubai; it’s very safe. ‘It’s still statistically safer in Dubai than the streets in England and the US when you consider knife crime and mass shootings.’

The Daily Mail previously revealed influencers are allegedly terrified to speak openly for fear of deportation, arrest or losing their homes.

The likes of Luisa Zissman, Petra Ecclestone and Vicky Pattison, have all been accused of making carefully curated posts disguising the terrifying reality of events in the Gulf.

Former Geordie Shore star Vicky, told her followers reports of Dubai ‘being bombed’ were ‘hyperbolic’.

Meanwhile former Apprentice contestant Luisa, who relocated to Dubai with her family, described it as ‘the safest country in the world’.

Leeds messaging also contrasts sharply with scenes at airports, where frightened holidaymakers have been scrambling for flights in a desperate bid to come home.

He was also called out by critics after his private jet appeared to have empty seats.

Leeds retorted: ‘We chartered a Gulfstream, as it’s one of the few fast ways out since most airports have shut down.

‘Before you get annoyed about the empty seats behind us…let me be honest.

‘I did say to my friends in Dubai, ‘I’m flying back to the UK to speak at my Academy event – want to hop on the jet for free?’

‘But guess what? They all said NO!

‘Because, unlike what the media will have you believe, Dubai is actually very safe and well-run during these attacks.

‘The government’s military response has been astonishing, and people are continuing as normal! So don’t believe what the media will try to have you believe.’

Leeds has built a huge following online through his company which sells expensive training courses promising to teach people how to achieve financial freedom through property deals.

The business has faced criticism from former attendees and campaigners who say the courses rely on hard-sell tactics and exaggerated promises.

In 2019, Army reservist Danny Butcher, 37, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, took his own life after paying £13,000 for training courses run by the company.

His family said he had taken out loans believing the programme would help him earn enough from property deals to replace his salary.

There is no suggestion that his attendance on the course resulted in his suicide.

Leeds’ company Property Investors said customers should ‘only purchase courses they can afford’.

Think tank Tax Policy Associates this year alleged the firm promotes ‘tax loopholes’ that are wrong or misleading – including strategies that would not work under UK rules and could leave followers facing tax bills.

The group said: ‘Samuel Leeds is a self-proclaimed ‘property guru’.

‘He makes substantial sums by using hard-sell tactics and conspiracy theories to sell expensive courses on property investment to people who can’t afford it.

‘Mr Leeds makes an array of claims on social media about how to ‘pay zero tax’ and ‘learn the tax loopholes that the rich use’. We’ve reviewed these claims, and many are simply wrong.’

The Iranian onslaught – which saw Dubai’s hub airport and the five-star Fairmont Palm hotel attacked – has left an estimated 94,000 Brits trapped.

Across the region, more than 4,000 flights a day have been cancelled, according to flight tracking data.

Some wealthy travellers are turning to private jets – with charter prices soaring above £100,000 for a single flight.

Private lights from Muscat to Istanbul are meanwhile reportedly up for grabs at eye-watering fees of more than £70,000 – around double the normal rate.

Private security firms have also been hiring SUVs to deliver clients to open airports to board private flights.

The UK Foreign Office has advised against all non-essential travel across the UAE.

The first repatriation flight out of Oman was cancelled for ‘operational reasons’ on Wednesday night, leaving hundreds stranded in capital Muscat.

A limited number of flights from Dubai are now being scheduled after the drone-hit airport was partially reopened.