London faces $160 billion wealth exodus as super-rich relocate to UAE and beyond

Dubai: Britain is confronting one of the largest outflows of private wealth in its recent history, with billionaires and other ultra-rich individuals who have left the country or sharply reduced their ties to it representing a combined fortune of about $160 billion.

According to Bloomberg, the figure was calculated using data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and represents the total wealth of individuals, along with a handful of family fortunes, who have either left Britain or significantly loosened their connections to the country over the past two years. It does not mean that $160 billion in cash has physically been transferred out of the UK. 

The scale of the departures has intensified questions over London’s ability to retain wealthy residents, investors and entrepreneurs at a time when tax policy and the wider business climate are under increasing scrutiny.

Bloomberg’s analysis found that the combined wealth represented by those leaving now exceeds that of UK-based individuals still listed in its Billionaires Index. 

Tax changes reshape the equation

The shift has gathered pace since Labour came to power in 2024, following changes to the tax system affecting wealthy residents and continued speculation over further measures.

Among the most significant reforms was the abolition of the long-standing non-domiciled tax regime, which had allowed some wealthy residents to avoid UK tax on overseas wealth for as long as 15 years.

The policy had initially been planned under the previous Conservative government before being implemented by Labour, alongside a shorter preferential regime for foreign income and gains. 

Taxes on inherited assets and profits earned by private-markets dealmakers have also increased, while uncertainty over potential future changes has added to concerns among wealthy residents.

Half of the group identified in Bloomberg’s analysis completed their departures in the weeks before the April 2025 reforms took effect, relocating to destinations including Monaco, Switzerland and the UAE. 

For many of those leaving, mobility is relatively easy.

The group is dominated by foreign-born billionaires and wealthy families whose ties to Britain were sometimes comparatively recent. But concern has grown that the trend may begin to spread to more UK-born financiers and entrepreneurs.

One closely watched departure was hedge fund manager Chris Rokos, a British-born financier and major taxpayer who moved to Greece.

His decision has ignited debate over whether the wealth migration could broaden beyond international residents to people whose personal and business roots in Britain run much deeper. 

UAE among destinations attracting departing wealth

The UAE has emerged among the jurisdictions benefiting from the movement of wealth away from Britain.

Shravin Mittal, son of Indian businessman Sunil Mittal, is among those who have relocated. The 39-year-old, who studied at the University of Bath and later established his investment firm in Britain, is now building a life in the UAE and has opened a branch of his firm, Unbound, there. 

Other wealthy residents have chosen destinations including Italy, Greece, Denmark, Monaco and Switzerland.

Canadian-born investor Ann Kaplan Mulholland, who previously lived in Britain under the non-dom system with her husband, left the country this year and moved to Italy after the couple had bought a £5.5 million medieval castle in Kent in 2023.

The growing range of destinations means there is no single clear winner from London’s loss of wealthy residents.

That reflects both the number of countries now offering incentives to attract global wealth and the difficulty of replicating London’s long-established network of financial services, advisers, investment firms, private banks and luxury businesses.

London still holds considerable financial weight

Despite the scale of the recent departures, London’s position as a global financial centre remains deeply entrenched.

Britain has historically attracted a disproportionately large share of global wealth and has the fifth-largest population of dollar millionaires in the world, with more than 2.4 million, according to UBS data cited by Bloomberg. The city has also weathered earlier predictions of decline.

A decade ago, warnings that Brexit would permanently undermine London’s status as Europe’s leading financial hub were widespread, but many of those forecasts proved overstated. 

Even so, the economic consequences of losing wealthy residents can be significant.

The top 1 per cent of UK earners account for about 27 per cent of all income tax revenue, according to government figures cited by Bloomberg. Their departure can therefore affect both government revenues and spending in sectors ranging from luxury property and restaurants to professional services. 

London luxury market feels the effects

The impact is already visible in parts of the capital’s high-end economy.

Sales of luxury homes have weakened, while buyers in central London are increasingly negotiating discounts to reflect concerns about the investment environment.

Hospitality businesses serving affluent areas such as Mayfair have also pointed to higher taxes and operating costs as factors weighing on revenues. 

Some departing billionaires have also reduced their broader financial exposure to Britain.

A UK investment company linked to Danish billionaire Troels Holch Povlsen, founder of the group behind Jack & Jones, has withdrawn large sums since he returned to Denmark. The company sold a London property business and declared a £57 million dividend this year, its largest in at least a decade.

More departures could follow

Advisers to wealthy families say the movement may not yet have run its course.

Residency and citizenship advisory firm Henley & Partners has reported elevated levels of enquiries, including from UK nationals assessing their options in case taxes rise further. 

Mark Somers, co-founder of a London recruitment firm serving family offices and wealth managers, warned that uncertainty surrounding the next UK budget was prompting wealthy residents to consider alternatives and make contingency plans. 

The government, meanwhile, has been exploring ways to restore Britain’s appeal to high-net-worth individuals.

A confidential survey sent to private wealth advisers asked how welcome their clients felt in the UK and raised possible measures including a new investor visa offering residency for a £5 million investment and an extension of the current four-year foreign income and gains regime. 

Yet London retains advantages that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.

Veteran private-equity investor Rajaa Mekouar, who moved to Britain this year under the new tax regime, observed that the capital still offers attractions extending well beyond politics and taxation, even as uncertainty over possible wealth taxes continues to unsettle investors. 

The bigger question is therefore not whether London will suddenly lose its status as a global wealth centre, but how much erosion it can absorb before the cumulative loss of residents, capital, tax revenue and spending begins to alter the city’s position.