A loss of $160 billion. Why are the ultra-rich leaving Great Britain en masse?
The United Kingdom is losing its attractiveness for ultra-wealthy individuals. Over the past two years, the total wealth of billionaires who have left the country or scaled back their ties is estimated at $160 billion. The mass exodus is linked to the abolition of tax incentives and a worsening business environment.
$160 billion loss. Why are the ultra-rich leaving the UK en masse?
The ultra-rich leaving the UK have become a "$160 billion problem" for the country.
Since the Labour Party came to power in 2024, changes in tax policy targeting the wealthy segment are causing increasingly serious damage to London's position as a global financial center. The abolition of perks that benefited the ultra-rich and continuous discussions about the potential introduction of new restrictions have strained relations between the government and the elite. At the same time, a perception has formed that the country is no longer as favorable for doing business as before.
"What is happening now is a complete disaster. Instead of creating a positive environment that attracts millionaires, billionaires, and investments, we are doing the exact opposite," says John Caudwell, the billionaire founder of the British mobile phone retail chain Phones 4u.
The UK has historically made effective use of its opportunities to accumulate and multiply wealth. According to UBS Group AG, the country ranks fifth in the world by the number of dollar millionaires. Specifically, more than 2.4 million millionaires live here.
The exodus of the rich has clear economic consequences. According to government data, the top 1 percent of earners in the UK pay nearly 27 percent of all income tax revenues. As they leave the country, they also take a massive amount of purchasing power with them.
Most of the individuals on the list of those who relocated are primary owners of their wealth. Others are identified as members of wealthy families tracked by the Billionaires Index. Half of the ultra-rich individuals in this group have settled in countries such as Monaco, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.
One of the main changes in Labour's tax reform was the abolition of the non-dom regime. Under certain conditions, this system allowed individuals not to pay British tax on foreign earnings for up to 15 years. The government also raised inheritance tax and taxes on the profits of professionals managing investments in private markets.
Most of those leaving the Kingdom are foreigners, many of whom arrived in the country in recent years and have not formed deep roots here. However, hedge fund manager Chris Rokos, who moved to Greece, was born in the UK and was one of the country's largest taxpayers. This raises the question: "Is the local wealthy class, whose entire lives have been tied to the UK and who were born and raised here, also starting to leave the country?"