UAE Leads in Attracting Migrating Millionaires Globally

With its zero income tax, golden visas, luxury lifestyle, and strategic location, the UAE has entrenched itself as the world’s number one destination for migrating millionaires and is poised to welcome a record net inflow of 6,700 this year alone.

For the third year running, the UAE looks set to take first place as the world’s leading wealth magnet, as the moneyed migrants expected to make the Emirates home by the end of the year, significantly boosted by large inflows from the UK and Europe.

According to The Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2024, consistent high inflows from India, the wider Middle East region, Russia, and Africa, the anticipated influx of larger numbers of Brits and Europeans looks set to see the Emirates attract nearly twice as many millionaires as its nearest rival, the US, which is projected to benefit from a net inflow of 3,800 millionaires in 2024.

Sunita Singh-Dalal, Partner leading the Private Wealth & Family Offices at Hourani in Dubai, said that the evolution and development of the UAE’s wealth management ecosystem is unprecedented. In less than 5 years, the UAE has introduced a robust regulatory framework that provides the wealthy with a range of innovative solutions to protect, preserve and enhance their wealth, she added.

Singapore takes 3^rd prize again this year with net inflows of 3,500, while the perennially popular destinations for migrating millionaires, Canada and Australia, follow in 4^th and 5^th places with net inflows of 3,200 and 2,500, respectively.

“European favourites Italy (+2,200), Switzerland (+1,500), Greece (+1,200) and Portugal (+800) all make it into this year’s Top 10 for net millionaire inflows along with Japan, which is on course to welcome 400 wealthy migrants, boosted in part by an accelerating trend of Chinese HNWIs moving to Tokyo that started post-COVID-19,” the report said.  

Head of Research at New World Wealth, Andrew Amoils, said that the benefits of this migration of wealth and talent to these destination countries were significant and wide ranging.

“Migrating millionaires are a vital source of forex revenue as they tend to bring their money with them when they move to a country. Also, around 20% of them are entrepreneurs and company founders who may start new businesses and therefore create local jobs in their new country, and this percentage rises to over 60% for centi-millionaires and billionaires,” Amoils added.

UK and China Lose

On the other hand, the UK is expected to see an unprecedented net loss of 9,500 millionaires in 2024 — second only to China worldwide, and more than double the 4,200 who left the country last year, which was itself record-breaking following the exodus of 1,600 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in 2022.

The report also reveals that Israel has dropped out of the top inflows list for the first time representing a major turnabout as Israel has been ranked among the Top 10 destinations for migrating millionaires for several decades.

Dan Marconi, Senior Client Advisor at Henley & Partners Israel said that this seismic shift underscores how swiftly conflict can unravel a country’s appeal to the world’s wealthy and globally mobile. The ongoing war has not only shattered Israel’s image as a safe haven but also threatened to overshadow its economic achievement.

China is again on track to be the biggest millionaire loser globally, with an anticipated net exit of 15,200 HNWIs this year (compared to 13,800 in 2023) whereas India has stemmed its wealth exodus, dropping down to 3rd place after the UK with just 4,300 millionaires projected to leave the country in 2024 (compared to 5,100 last year).

South Korea’s HNWI flight is expected to rise with a forecast loss of 1,200 millionaires (compared to 800 in 2023) while the tsunami of millionaires that fled Russia following the outbreak of the Ukraine war appears to be abating with only 1,000 projected to relocate this year (compared to 8,500 in 2022 and 2,800 in 2023).

Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners, said that 2024 was shaping up to be a watershed moment in the global migration of wealth.  An unprecedented 128,000 millionaires are expected to relocate worldwide this year, eclipsing the previous record of 120,000 set in 2023, he said.