
The Telegraph revealed that every 45 minutes, one millionaire leaves Britain, marking a significant outflow in the year the Labour Party assumed power.
In 2024, the United Kingdom saw the migration of 10,800 millionaires abroad, a figure that has doubled compared to 2023.
The wave of emigration coincides with Labour Party’s plans to abolish Britain’s centuries-old tax laws, which currently allow foreign investors to reside in the country while shielding their wealth from local taxes.
According to a survey by analytics firm New World Wealth, these proposed changes have contributed to the growing exodus of millionaires seeking more favorable tax environments abroad.
Foreign investors in the UK feel the country has become hostile to the wealthy, Jason Hollands, managing director of Evelyn Partners, told The Telegraph.
Hollands added that the wealthy have significant flexibility to move their investments abroad, with more attractive opportunities available outside the UK. Many investors can now operate from countries where they don’t necessarily have to reside to manage their investments.
The Telegraph reported that the number of individuals with liquid assets exceeding one million dollars who left Britain increased by 157% in 2024 compared to 2023. It noted that, apart from China, no other country experienced a greater outflow of capital than Britain last year.
The report highlighted that, 78 millionaires with assets exceeding $100 million, along with 12 billionaires, left Britain last year. It emphasized that Italy, which introduced attractive tax rates for foreign investors in 2017, has become one of the most popular destinations for the wealthy departing Britain, alongside Switzerland, the UAE, the United States, and Singapore.
Importantly, Britain’s new tax system, set to take effect next April, will allow foreigners a four-year grace period during which their wealth will not be subject to local taxes.
After this period, they will be required to pay the same tax rates as the average British citizen. The new system is expected to generate over £2.5 billion annually for the treasury over the next five years.