#wealth-migration

#wealth-migration

The world's richest people saw their wealth increase more than ever in 2025, but a funny thing happened along the way. Many of them seemed to decide that their best prospects for the future don't lie in on the west side of the Atlantic, even though the exceptional performance of U.S. equity markets are driving much of these gains. A growing share of the ultra-elite are quietly voting with their feet against the idea that the American Dream is still worth living in America.

The chancellor will assess self-assessment tax returns for the 2025-26 tax year, with findings expected to be published in 2026. It marks the first time the government has publicly confirmed that it is formally evaluating the consequences of ending the centuries-old tax regime. Non-dom status, which was scrapped in April, previously allowed wealthy UK residents to avoid paying British tax on income and assets held overseas by claiming their permanent home was abroad.

The super-rich are inheriting record levels of wealth as they pass down billions of dollars to their children, grandchildren and spouses, research by a Swiss bank favoured by billionaires shows. Globally, there are 9,919 billionaires this year, up from 2,682 in 2024, UBS found. Of these, 91 people this year became billionaires through inheritance, collectively receiving $298bn (223bn) in the 12 months to April, the bank said.

The ultra-wealthy are leaving Britain in their droves as a result of the Labour government's tax rises. The nation's business secretary admitted that he's worried billionaires, entrepreneurs, and even doctors have left the country ahead of Rachel Reeves' Budget. But it's not just an abstract concern-it's already happening. The CEO of Taxfix, the Berlin-based tax app valued at more than $1 billion, Martin Ott, exclusively told Fortune that some of its wealthy U.K.-based clients are eyeing an exit-but he doesn't recommend it. "Yes, there are certain customers, at a certain income bracket, that are moving to save money abroad," Ott, a former Meta exec, said. "I always encourage people to stay where you are."

Zohran Mamdani won a resounding mayoral victory by promising to make it cheaper to live in New York City. However, his victory earlier this month may have the unintended effect of making it even more expensive for the ultrawealthy to afford their homes in favorite ex-New Yorker haunts like Greenwich, Palm Beach, and the Hamptons, top real estate agents told Business Insider.

The Chancellor's reported plan to impose a 20% 'exit tax' on the business assets of wealthy individuals leaving the UK would be "reckless and self-defeating," warns Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, one of the world's largest independent financial advisory and asset management organisations.

One of the most oft-repeated refrains from powerful New Yorkers is that if you continue to raise taxes on the wealthy, like Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is proposing, the rich would simply leave New York to run off to states with lower taxes. "We have to stop the exodus," Andrew Cuomo railed in a Fox Business appearance last week. "If Mamdani becomes the mayor of New York, you're going to see the flight of businesses from New York," hedge fund tycoon Bill Ackman said this summer. "It only takes a handful of successful people to leave to decimate the city's tax base."

The world's richest entrepreneurs are increasingly sending their money to tried-and-tested wealth hubs - with Singapore, the UK, and Switzerland leading the pack. That's the key finding from HSBC's 2025 Global Entrepreneurial Wealth Report, which surveyed 2,939 business owners across 15 markets - including the US, UK, mainland China, India, Singapore, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE - between April 19 and May 21.

Italy is expected to be Europe's top relocation destination for millionaires in 2025, according to a recent report by investment and citizenship consultancy firm Henley & Partners. The firm's 2025 wealth flow forecasts estimate that, out of the over 142,000 millionaires expected to relocate worldwide, around 3,600 will have chosen Italy as their new home by the end of the year.