Chasing the dollars: Shifts in the global population of millionaires

By Dr. Tim Sandle
June 16, 2023

Worried about the fate of their fortunes, wealthy Chinese are increasingly heading to Singapore, which ticks all the boxes for relocating tycoons - Copyright AFP Roslan RAHMAN

The U.K. is expected to see a net outflow of 3,200 so-called ‘high-net-worth individuals’ in 2023. This is higher than the projected 3,000 net loss for Russia, according to the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2023. The report tracks wealth and investment migration trends worldwide.

One argument for encouraging millionaires to take residency in a country is the boost to the economy. However, there is a little support for the theory of trickledown economics, even among the business community.

The latest move will make the U.K. the third-biggest loser of millionaires globally after China (net loss of 13,500) and India (net loss of 6,500). Perhaps most notably, the U.K.’s anticipated flight is double that of last year, when it saw a net exodus of 1,600 millionaires. There may be a connection with the Brexit process.

One consequence is that it is harder to move between the U.K. and E.U. countries. And evidence shows that the U.K.’s share of inward investment into Europe has declined since it left the EU, with Germany and France benefiting.

Although China’s economy grew strongly from 2000 to 2017, the wealth and millionaire growth in the country has been negligible since then (when measured in US-dollar terms).

The report considers the difference between the number of ‘high-net-worth individuals’ with investable wealth of $1 million or more who relocate to and the number who emigrate from a country).

The migration figures focus only on people who have truly moved — namely, who stay in their new country more than six months a year.

Australia is expected to attract the highest net inflow of ‘high-net-worth individuals’ in 2023 at 5,200, and although the UAE drops into 2nd place following its record-breaking influx in 2022, it is still expected to record a net arrival of 4,500 new millionaires this year. Singapore ranks 3rd with a net inflow of 3,200 ‘high-net-worth individuals’, its highest on record, followed the U.S. with an expected net influx of 2,100 millionaires.

Switzerland (net inflow of 1,800) and Canada (1,600) are in 5th and 6th place, respectively, with Greece (1,200), France (1,000 — double last year’s net intake of 500 millionaires), Portugal (800), and New Zealand (700) all making it onto this year’s Top 10 list for net HNWI inflows. Israel is predicted to tumble out of the Top 10 with its net inflow of millionaires set to almost halve this year to just 600 compared to 1,100 in 2022.

Such data suggests there has been a steady growth in millionaire migration over the past decade, and the global figures for 2023 and 2024 expected to be 122,000 and 128,000, respectively. Any last impact of COVID-19 appears minimal.

Some nations seek to entice the wealthy by operating investment migration pathways.One example is with Portugal’s Golden Residence Permit Program and Austria’s citizenship by investment.