Where the Ultrarich Are Flocking: The Surprising Reasons Behind Their Moves

The United States has long dominated global private wealth. As of the end of 2024, 6,041,600 of the world’s 16 million high-net-worth individuals lived in the U.S., or 37% of the global population of people with net worth over $1 million, with 34% of liquid wealth being held in the country.

But the U.S. dominance is projected to backslide. According to the USA Wealth Report 2025, released by investment migration consultancy Henley & Partners and global wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth, there has been a large spike in wealthy Americans looking to move out of the U.S. after the 2024 election.

More specifically, over 30% of global investment migration applications in Q1 2025 came from wealthy Americans, nearly double (a 183% increase) the applications the firm saw from Americans in Q1 2024 and up 39% from those seen in Q4 2024. The combined total of the next five countries with the highest number of applications—countries including the United Kingdom, India, and Turkey—comes out to less than half of that.

Key Takeaways

• High-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) typically have more than $1 million in net worth, though definitions vary.
• The United States was the world’s largest private wealth hub in 2024, holding over a third of global liquid wealth and 37% of all millionaires.
• The 2024 election has threatened this dominance, with the number of American millionaires looking to relocate doubling year over year in Q1 2025.
• Wealthy Americans are drawn to European residency programs but are also seeking citizenship opportunities in nontraditional countries.

Changing Landscape

In a press release for the report, Peter J. Spiro, a professor at Temple University Law School, said that “more Americans are confronting a stark reality: U.S. citizenship alone no longer feels like a sufficient safeguard. The enduring value of an American passport is now paired with a growing desire for a backup plan. Dual citizenship, once a luxury, is becoming the new American dream.”

Henley & Partners reports that wealthy Americans are looking into residence programs in Greece, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, and Switzerland, often coupling these programs with citizenship in Caribbean countries, Costa Rica, Nauru, New Zealand, Panama, and Turkey.

The U.S. is looking to maintain its high-net-worth population via President Donald Trump’s proposed Gold Card. The visa would require $5 million of investment in the U.S. in exchange for a fast track toward permanent residency. Yet experts remain unconvinced about its appeal.

“Our feeling on the Gold Card is that because it’s asking people to give so much money without actually being able to get that money back, it seems unlikely that anyone would want to do it,” said Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth. He added that high capital gains and estate taxes in the U.S. further discourage wealthy individuals.

China Impact

Amoils added that the Trump administration’s skepticism toward Chinese immigrants, once a large source of inflows for high-net-worth individuals moving to the U.S., could hamper U.S. growth.

“[Canada, Australia, and the U.S.] were getting huge numbers of wealthy people from China, and that has dropped off [post-COVID],” he said. “Most of these countries still take high-net-worth [individuals] from China, but they’re just a lot more selective than they used to be. That’s definitely had an effect.”

Despite these concerns, the United States remains a top destination for wealthy migrants. In 2024, it recorded a net inflow of 3,800 HNWIs—second only to the United Arab Emirates’s 6,700—continuing its long-standing status as a magnet for global wealth. Whether rising outbound interest will eventually tip that balance remains to be seen.

The Bottom Line

For now, the U.S. still leads global private wealth. However, as a record number of wealthy Americans seek residency abroad while political leaders stem millionaire inflows from China, the U.S. is poised to face future headwinds. For professionals, this trend opens opportunities in global real estate, wealth migration services, and cross-border financial planning. But for those with money on the line, geographic diversification may be key to keeping portfolios afloat in the coming years.

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