The UK has traditionally been regarded as a hub of the rich. But this trend is reversing with many millionaires leaving the country and fewer coming in. It is expected to lose 3,200 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in 2023, which means the millionaire flight this year is double that of last year. This makes the UK the third-biggest loser of millionaires globally after China (net loss of 13,500) and India (net loss of 6,500).

Millionaires leaving the UK choose top destinations like Dubai, Paris, Monaco and Amsterdam, Sydney, Singapore, New York, Frankfurt, Silicon Valley, Toronto, Marbella, Geneva, Miami and Palm Beach, among others. This is a reversal from the early 1900s to 2010, when the UK consistently drew wealthy migrants from Europe, CIS, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

“The trend began to reverse around a decade ago as more millionaires left the country and less came in,” the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2023 by the citizenship advisory firm Henley & Partners said. The data for the report, which tracks wealth and investment migration trends worldwide, was compiled using countries’ investment-migration programme statistics, interviews with advisers, media reports and real-estate transactions. According to the report, the UK recorded net inflows before Brexit, and no data was published during Covid because migrations were few.

The report talks about the latest net inflows and outflows of dollar millionaires (namely, the difference between the number of HNWIs with investable wealth of $1 million or more who relocate to and the number who emigrate from a country) as projected by global wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth, which has been tracking wealth migration trends for over a decade. Also, the HNWI migration figures focus only on those millionaires who have truly moved — those who stay in their new country for more than six months a year.

Along with the policy change to remove permanent non-domiciled taxpayer status, Brexit has made the UK less hospitable and welcoming to HNWIs. It’s now harder for them to move between the UK and EU countries. Add to this the unprecedented political volatility, high taxation, rising debt, a flawed healthcare system and high crime rates, and the lustre of London has been tarnished.

According to Misha Glenny, award-winning journalist and Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, “Political stability is the key metric for those selecting where they want to live, together with low taxation regimes and personal freedom.” This is precisely what makes millionaires leaving the UK choose destinations like Dubai, Paris, Monaco and Amsterdam.