UK set to lose 1 in 6 dollar millionaires, study shows
BRITAIN is likely to lose nearly one in six of its US dollar millionaires by 2028, but their number is set to grow in other countries including the US and surge in Taiwan, according to a report published yesterday.
The UBS Global Wealth Report for 2024 forecast the number of dollar millionaires in Britain would fall by 17% to 2 542 464 in 2028 from 3 061553 last year. It also forecast a 4% fall in the Netherlands, to 1 179 328 from 1 231 625.
Paul Donovan, chief economist of UBS Global Wealth Management, said the shift away from Britain partly reflected the fact that, with the third highest number of millionaires, its figure was disproportionately high.
“In the UK over the last few years, as in other countries, implications have been arising from sanctions against Russia,” he said.
Donovan said Britain’s decision to scrap its “non-dom” status – which lets wealthy, often foreign residents avoid tax on overseas income – had also had a “small effect”.
“The non-indigenous millionaire population, the global population, which is constantly shifting, will be looking for low tax locations all of the time,” he said. This was “not a function of UK policies per se” but reflected the “pull factors” of other countries, he said pointing to Dubai and Singapore.
British real estate group Winkworth said separately yesterday that demand for high-end properties had been dented by tax policies targeting wealthy individuals and a Labour government proposal to tax private schools.
The UBS report forecast the total dollar millionaires in the US would rise by 16% by 2028, in Germany by 14%, in France also by 16%, in Japan by 28%, in Spain by 12% and in Italy by 9%.
UBS said that for its report “wealth” is defined as the value of financial assets plus real assets owned by households, minus their debts. Overall, in dollar terms, global wealth grew by 4.2% in 2023 after a decline of 3% in 2022.
The number of adults worth over $1 million will have risen in 52 of the 56 markets by 2028, the report forecast. The strongest growth in millionaires, 47%, was expected to be in Taiwan, driven by the country’s microchip industry.
UBS said over the past 15 years the Asia-Pacific region has posted the biggest growth in wealth, up by 177%, followed by the Americas at 146%, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa was up just 44%.