Global flight of the wealthy slows sharply as political and tax worries ease

{"text":[[{"start":8,"text":"The number of wealthy people who have moved their tax jurisdiction or are planning to has more than halved after political and economic shocks driving relocations receded, research has found."}],[{"start":19,"text":"A quarter of rich people from around the world surveyed by consultancy Capgemini said they had changed their principal tax residence in 2025 or were intending to do so, down from 56 per cent the year before."}],[{"start":32.4,"text":"Changes that had motivated moves in recent years, such as political dissatisfaction in the US and the abolition of the non-dom tax regime in the UK, were playing themselves out, said Gareth Wilson, global banking industry leader at Capgemini."}],[{"start":47.2,"text":"“We’re seeing [the moving landscape] become more of a steady state than being event-driven,” he said."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":53.550000000000004,"text":"The survey found that the most popular destinations for movers were Singapore, long seen as a welcoming hub for storing wealth, and the US. Respondents were less likely to say their motive for moving was lower tax rates than the year before but were more likely to cite inheritance planning."}],[{"start":70.4,"text":"The slowdown in completed or intended changes of jurisdiction was sharpest in the UK, falling from 54 per cent in 2024 to 19 per cent last year. The abolition of the non-dom tax regime announced in 2024 sparked the departures of some of the UK’s richest residents, such as steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and Egyptian industrialist Nassef Sawiris."}],[{"start":94.5,"text":"Camilla Wallace, senior partner at law firm Wedlake Bell, said the drop in UK departures was not a surprise as “the very wealthy non-dom client will have gone already”."}],[{"start":105.6,"text":"Europe and Asia-Pacific were the regions with the most settled wealthy people, according to the survey, with only 23 per cent in each saying they had moved in 2025 or wanted to. This figure among the rich in North America and Latin America was nearly a third."}],[{"start":122.25,"text":"The Middle East had the most people expressing an intention to move tax residency specifically in the next year, at 13 per cent. The survey was conducted before the Iran war and Wilson said he expected next year’s results to tell a different story."}],[{"start":137.55,"text":"Even as the UK lost wealthy residents last year, it benefited from Americans seeking a move, some driven by unhappiness with the direction of domestic politics. There were almost 8,800 US applications for British citizenship in 2025, a rise of 42 per cent on 2024."}],[{"start":158.05,"text":"The FT reported last year that US businesspeople with a combined net worth of more than $130bn bought apartments at the Peninsula in London, an exclusive residential development situated inside a luxury hotel."}],[{"start":172.8,"text":"Capgemini surveyed more than 6,500 individuals with investable assets of more than $1mn, which excludes their primary residence."}],[{"start":190.15,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780559864_3364.mp3"}