In this article, we will look at the 12 countries millionaires are moving to. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, go directly to the 5 Countries Millionaires Are Moving To.
The global millionaires accounted for almost 1.5% of the adult population in 2023. A lot of millionaires are moving to tax-free countries in the world. The United States has the highest millionaire population, at around 22 million, representing 38% of the total millionaires in the world. This makes the United States the country with the highest percentage of millionaires in the world. In 2023, China had the second-highest number of millionaires, with just over 6 million. However, China is expected to experience the highest millionaire outflow in 2024, with over 15,000 leaving the country. The United Kingdom, which takes the third spot with the most millionaires is projected to have the second-highest millionaire outflow in 2024.
According to Credit Suisse’s Global Wealth Report 2024, the number of millionaires is expected to be grow in 52 countries out of 56 countries worldwide. By 2028, Taiwan is anticipated to experience the highest increase by over 50%. Next on the list are Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea which are expected to have millionaire growth of 43%, 37%, 32%, 28%, and 27%, respectively. The global wealth share for emerging economies is expected to cross 30% in 2024 and reach nearly 32% by 2028.
Millionaire Migration and Its Impact
Millionaires migrate due to several reasons such as business opportunities, safety, financial concerns, lifestyle factors, education opportunities for children, better healthcare system, standard of living, and taxes and retirement. According to a report by New World Wealth, nearly 128,000 millionaires around the world are expected to move to a new country in 2024, with the United Arab Emirates leading the list with a 3-year average of 5,067 millionaires moving to the country. Whereas, Taiwan, Turkiye, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea are expected to have the highest millionaire population growth by 2028.
Scott Galloway, a public speaker, entrepreneur, and host of The Prof G Show on YouTube, highlighted that the influx of millionaires in the Middle East, especially Dubai and Saudi Arabia is due to increasing economic opportunity and low taxes. The Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are some of the most popular tax havens for the wealthy. Portugal is another major destination for millionaires offering Golden visa opportunities for wealthy people, said Galloway. According to La Vida’s recent investment migration survey, almost 31% of respondents indicated that they are considering a Golden Visa programme to have security against political uncertainties. Whereas, over 23% opted for relocation as their primary reason.
The millionaires’ migration is a huge bonus for countries millionaires are moving to. The migration of wealth and talent to these countries adds exclusive benefits to the economy. For instance, millionaires are a major source of forex revenue as they tend to move their capital with them. An entrepreneur who brings $10 million with them is equivalent to a country generating $10 million in export revenue. Millionaires also invest in the local stock market to diversify their equity portfolio, which increases the country’s foreign portfolio investment (FPI).
Almost 20% of the high-net-worth individuals are company founders, who establish businesses in their new country which leads to the creation of local jobs. In addition, nearly 60% of centi-millionaires and billionaire entrepreneurs create local jobs through their businesses. Out of Fortune 500 companies in 2024, 230 companies were founded by ‘New Americans,’ who are immigrants or the children of immigrants. These immigrant-founded companies made a staggering $8.6 trillion in revenue in 2023, higher than some of the largest economies in the world such as Japan, Germany, Russia, and Indonesia. These 230 companies employed more than 15.5 million people worldwide, reflecting their significance for creating jobs and economic growth.
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Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is one of the leading tech companies that was co-founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Sergery Brin who co-founded Google with Larry Page immigrated to the United States from the Soviet Union at the age of six in 1979. Along with Page, Brin took the browsing network to the next level with the Google browser. Today, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is one of the largest companies in the world with a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, as of September 13.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is a leading tech giant that primarily earns revenue through its search engine, Google Search. Alphabet Inc. also operates in lucrative industries such as video streaming and cloud computing. However, the company’s premier business is dependent on Search. During the second quarter of 2024, Alphabet Inc. reported a total revenue of $84.74 billion, beating estimates by $445.49 million and up by almost 14% year-over-year. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s revenue from Search was almost $48.50 billion, while the other Google services added around $25.42 billion to the revenue. Google Cloud business is the second largest source of revenue for Alphabet Inc., adding around $10.34 billion to the total revenue in Q2 2024. The company surpassed its earnings estimate as well, reporting an EPS of $1.89 compared to a consensus of $1.84 per share. Patient Capital Management mentioned Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in its Q2 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) was a top contributor in the second quarter, finally catching up to its peers in the Magnificent 7. The company gained 20.8% in the period following strong first-quarter earnings, a new $70B repurchase program (3% of shares outstanding), and the initiation of a cash dividend ($0.20 per share; 0.42% yield). We continue to believe the market underappreciates Google’s exposure to AI with its Gemini model being integrated into search results, YouTube advertising, and its cloud offering. We continue to think that the cloud players will be the AI winners in the long term, with Google being well-positioned to take advantage. While the company trades at 24x 2024 earnings, if you remove the money-losing and under-earning businesses, you realize that you are paying below a market multiple for the core Google business. We do not believe there are many other AI winners trading at such an attractive multiple.”
The company’s sizable business in the ‘Search’ allows it to control over 50% of the search advertising market. This allows Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) significant leverage with publishers and advertising firms to divert their transactions through its platform. Moreover, Google’s AI model ‘Gemini’ places Alphabet Inc. at the forefront of AI developments.
While we acknowledge the potential of GOOGL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NVDA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
Now, let’s take a look at the 12 countries millionaires are moving to.
Our Methodology
To compile the list of 12 countries millionaires are moving to, we gathered the data of countries with the highest millionaire inflow in 2023 and 2024. We obtained the data for millionaire inflow from a South African wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth. The countries millionaires are moving to are ranked in ascending order of the millionaire inflow, as of 2023 and 2024, respectively.
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12 Countries Millionaires Are Moving to
12. Japan
Millionaire inflow (2024): 400
Japan is one of the largest economies in the world with a GDP (PPP) of $6.72 trillion. Almost 400 millionaires are expected to migrate to Japan in 2024, making it one of the 12 countries millionaires are moving to.
Overall millionaire count was around 2.82 million in 2023, with the millionaire population declining with a negative compound annual growth rate of 6.25% between 2020 and 2023.
11. New Zealand
Millionaire inflow (2023): 700
New Zealand is becoming an important destination for millionaires with an average millionaire inflow of 750 over the past three years. There were a total of 439,000 millionaires in New Zealand in 2023, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 18% between 2020 and 2023. New Zealand ranks among the 12 countries millionaires are moving to.
10. Portugal
Millionaire inflow (2024): 800
Around 800 millionaires are expected to move to Portugal in 2024, making it one of the leading countries millionaires are moving to. Portugal is offering various opportunities for foreigners, especially through its Golden Visa opportunity. There were a total of 171,797 millionaires in Portugal in 2023, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 5.93% between 2020 and 2023.
9. France
Millionaire inflow (2023): 1,000
France has over 2.86 million millionaires residing in the country, as of 2023. In 2023, nearly 1,000 millionaires moved to France. France is one of the top countries millionaires are moving to in Europe.
8. Greece
Millionaire inflow (2024): 1,200
Greece is a country with beautiful scenery. On average, 1,200 millionaires have migrated to Greece over the last three years. In 2023, almost 80,655 millionaires were residing in Greece, with a compound annual growth rate of almost 2.80% between 2020 and 2023. Greece ranks eighth among the countries millionaires are moving to.
7. Switzerland
Millionaire inflow (2024): 1,500
Switzerland is one of the most peaceful countries in the world. Almost 1,800 and 1,500 millionaires moved to Switzerland in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Switzerland is one of the 12 countries millionaires are moving to. In 2023, there were around 1.02 million millionaires in the country.
6. Italy
Millionaire inflow (2024): 2,200
Italy is one of the largest economies in Europe and has a GDP (PPP) of around $3.35 trillion. Around 2,200 millionaires are expected to move to Italy in 2024. The total population of millionaires in Italy was around 1.33 million in 2023. Around 2,200 millionaires are expected to move to Italy in 2024 and ranks sixth among the countries millionaires are moving to.
5. Australia
Millionaire inflow (2024): 2,500
Australia is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and ranks fifth among the countries millionaires are moving to. In the last three years, around 3,733 millionaires on average have moved to Australia. There were a total of 1.93 million millionaires in Australia in 2023, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 1.77% between 2020 and 2023.
4. Canada
Millionaire inflow (2024): 3,200
Canada is another top location for immigrants and one of the leading countries millionaires are moving to. In the past three years, an average of nearly 2,000 millionaires have moved to Canada. In 2023, around 1.99 million millionaires were living in Canada. Between 2020 and 2023, millionaires in Canada have increased at a compound annual growth rate of 4.30%.
3. Singapore
Millionaire inflow (2024): 3,500
Singapore has one of the highest millionaire per capita ratios in the world. In 2023, over 333,000 millionaires were living in Singapore. Almost 3,500 millionaires are anticipated to move to the country in 2024. Singapore ranks third among the countries millionaires are moving to.
2. United States
Millionaire inflow (2024): 3,800
The United States is the land of opportunities and one of the largest economies in the world. The United States has the highest millionaire population in the world and around 22 million millionaires were residing in the US in 2023. In 2024, around 3,800 millionaires are expected to move to the US compared to 1,500 and 2,100 in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The US ranks second among the 12 countries millionaires are moving to.
1. United Arab Emirates
Millionaire inflow (2024): 6,700
The United Arab Emirates has been a growing millionaire hub for a few years now. Around 4000 and 4,500 millionaires moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, almost 6,700 millionaires are expected to move to the country. Dubai remains the major destination for millionaires in the UAE, considering economic opportunities and being close to the European lifestyle. In 2023, there were around 202,201 millionaires in the United Arab Emirates, having a compound annual growth rate of 4.65% between 2020 and 2023. The United Arab Emirates ranks first among the countries millionaires are moving to.
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Disclosure. None. This article was originally published on Insider Monkey.