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The geopolitical state of the world is rapidly shifting, as are the profiles of the locations that the world’s wealthiest people call home.
For example, according to reports from investment migration consultancy Henley & Partners, the number of affluent Americans looking to move abroad has spiked since the 2024 election.
The number of Chinese millionaires leaving China has increased since the country lifted its severe, COVID-related travel restrictions, with the outflow projected to shatter records in 2025. And the United Kingdom is hemorrhaging millionaires, while others, such as the United Arab Emirates, are seeing large inflows.
The question is, what impact does the migration of millionaires have on countries and your investments?
Key Takeaways
- Millionaire departures can harm local economies by reducing investment and weakening high-end job-creating sectors.
- A country losing its millionaire population often signals broader economic or political instability.
- Wealthy Americans are emigrating in record numbers post-2024 election, the UK is losing affluent residents, and Chinese millionaire migration continues to grow.
Costs (and Benefits) of Millionaires
There are well-known issues associated with millionaire immigration into new communities, such as inflated real estate prices, strained local housing markets, weakened tax regimes, and broadened social inequalities.
Much has been written about the downside of the influx of millionaires into countries, but far less attention is paid to the reverse dynamic: the fallout when the rich leave.
“I think sometimes people don’t realize how important millionaires are,” explained Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at New World Wealth. “It’s not so much about [the taxes they pay]. It’s more about all the jobs they create.”
He noted that these jobs are created through investment in the local stock market as well as through patronage of sectors that are highly reliant on wealthy individuals.
These include property, wealth management, high fashion, and luxury hotels and restaurants. A large enough exodus can depress these areas, triggering stagnation or even contraction.
These effects can have negative consequences for investors focused on those sectors in particular, as well as on the broader market.
The Influence of the Global Financial Ecosystem
However, the severity of such an exodus varies from country to country. Nations that dominate the global financial ecosystem are able to benefit from high-net-worth individuals even when those individuals do not live within their boundaries. Nations that are less than dominant don’t.
According to Amoils, the majority of the world’s countries, including South Africa, Australia, and Italy, need the highly affluent to move to their countries to benefit from their spending and investing.
“In the case of the United States, because of the huge number of people that invest in the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ that are not living in the U.S., they don’t necessarily need the millionaires to move there to benefit from them,” said Amoils.
Switzerland is another country that doesn’t need a direct influx, due to its robust wealth management sector.
“A lot of wealthy people were keeping their money in Switzerland without actually moving to Switzerland,” Amoils explained. “But that’s kind of been slowed down now because of all the banking rules around offshore banking.”
Fast Fact
In 2024, the five countries with the greatest number of high-net-worth individuals leaving were China, the United Kingdom, India, South Korea, and Russia.
A Worrisome Sign for Investors
Despite the sometimes muted impact that can result when millionaires leave countries like the U.S., the affluent depart for significant reasons that might indicate nations in trouble:
“We’ve always found that [millionaire migration] is a measure of how a country is doing because if there are a lot of rich people moving to a country, it tends to be a good sign about what’s going on in the country in general,” Amoils noted.
“On the flip side, probably even more so, if there are a lot of rich people leaving a country, that’s a very negative sign.”
The Bottom Line
In today’s volatile geopolitical climate, where the wealthy go and why can be a valuable signal for investors, policymakers, and everyday market watchers.
The influx of millionaires into a country can boost its economy and the account values of individual and institutional investors. It indicates where affluent people feel their money is safe and can grow.
The departure of millionaires from a country can be a sign that all is not well, including conditions for their money and investments.
