South Africa projected to lose 600 millionaires this year, but the biggest loser of all is Britain

Some countries lose their rich residents due to turmoil, tax hikes, stagnation or safety concerns. Others, because investment opportunities open up to greener pastures. In South Africa, India and Vietnam, millionaires are leaving their motherland simply in search of a better lifestyle.

This year, the world’s wealthy are expected to uproot themselves in record numbers, with an unprecedented 128,000 millionaires likely to relocate globally, which exceeds last year’s record of 120,000. 

The latest Henley & Partners Private Wealth Migration Report 2024, compiled with wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth, places the United Arab Emirates as the top destination for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), with a record 6,700 millionaires expected this year — largely from Europe and the UK.

Popular choices for HNWIs are the US (3,800), Singapore (3,500), Canada (3,200) and Australia (2,500), which all offer tax advantages, luxurious lifestyles and strategic global positioning.

The biggest losers in 2024 are China, which is set to shed 15,200 millionaires; the UK, which is on course to lose 9,500, and India (4,300).

Brazil is projected to lose 800 millionaires, South Africa 600, Taiwan 400, Vietnam 300 and Nigeria 300.

More than any other country, Britain has suffered astonishing losses: This year, more than twice as many HNWIs will rush for the exits than in 2023 when 4,200 Britons sought better opportunities, improved safety and climates. That number was also up sharply from the previous year when 1,600 decamped. 

Dr Hannah White, director and CEO of independent think tank the Institute for Government in London, comments in the report that the outflow already generated by the economic and political turmoil in Britain risks being accelerated by further unwelcome policy decisions ahead of the 4 July elections. 

“On top of the 40% duty already imposed on estates above a £325,000 threshold, the Conservative government has adopted the thrust of the Labour opposition’s policy of ending the UK’s non-domiciled tax regime from 2025. 

“And for those educating their children in the UK’s well-regarded private school sector, Labour’s commitment to remove their exemption from 20% VAT is a further unwelcome development.”  

The UK’s long-standing non-domiciled resident tax status, in place for more than two centuries, offered a haven for wealthy individuals to shield their overseas income from UK taxes. 

In March, Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced that he would abolish this tax regime, which raised concern among the elite as the desperate move of a Conservative party at sea.

People with non-domiciled status (often called “non-doms”) reside in the UK, but claim permanent residency in another country for tax purposes, allowing them to avoid paying UK tax on their income earned outside the UK.

In May, The Guardian reported that a London-based billionaire non-dom left the UK for good on the day that Hunt made the announcement.

“We did have one billionaire client who literally on the day of the budget, 6 March, got on his private jet with his wife, his children and the private tutor, and flew to one of his other 17 houses in the world – and said, ‘I’m not coming back’,” John Barnett, a partner at the law firm Burges Salmon, told the newspaper.

Another non-dom entrepreneur, Bassim Haidar, told The Guardian that he was leaving the UK as soon as possible because the scrapping of the regime “is going to cost me millions and millions of dollars and pounds every year in taxes on money that I’ve made abroad and businesses that I’ve built abroad”.

The W15 ranking of the world’s Top 15 countries for millionaires shows a stark contrast in global wealth distribution: While the UK’s millionaire population has shrunk by 8% over the past decade, other countries are experiencing a boom. Since 2014, Germany’s HNWI population has increased by 15%, France’s by 14%, Australia by 35%, Canada by 29% and the US by 62%.

The surge is attributed to strong local business creation, rising stock markets and attractive property markets.

India, though, has managed to slow its wealth exodus — the 4,300 millionaires leaving that country this year is down from last year’s 5,100. 

HNWI departures from Russia (1,000) are also slowing following the initial surge after the outbreak of Russia’s war against Ukraine when 8,500 fled the country, followed by a further 2,800 in 2023.

Henley says the rise in millionaire migration is fuelling a surge in investment migration programmes offering residence or citizenship in exchange for investment, such as Portugal’s Golden Residence Permit, Greece’s Golden Visa and Malta’s Citizenship by Investment programme.

Over the long term, wealth is shifting eastwards, as China, India, South Korea, Singapore and Vietnam have seen significant growth in millionaires.

HNWI migration is undoubtedly a boon for host countries, besides boosting foreign exchange earnings. 

Henley & Partners notes that many migrating HNWIs (around 20%) are seasoned entrepreneurs who establish new businesses in their adopted country, creating local jobs and fostering economic growth.

Millionaires invest heavily, giving a significant boost to the local stock market, and they are major consumers whose spending power has a ripple effect on job creation (particularly in luxury sectors such as hospitality, retail and technology). DM