Lots of people, yes. Not much in the way of wealth. Not much military muscle flexing. Not a major player on the political scene. I'm not sure what the article's authors were thinking.
How can you count UAE as an influential country but not its much more powerful neighbors Saudi Arabia (The World Largest Oil Exporter) and Iran (The former's archrival) or Turkey or India (1.3 Billion, third largest GDP PPP, Fourth Strongest Military)!!!! I think this was a joke.