After five odd years of acute cost of living struggles, increasing political polarization and socio-economic uncertainty, it seems that progressively more Americans are moving abroad, wooed by everything from lower expenses and taxation rates to nicer weather and a more simple, peaceful existence.
While the indebted have their own reasons for wanting to relocate, it’s the world’s wealthiest who increasingly seem to be emigrating from their home nations — and taking their money with them.
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Last year, executives at Swiss bank UBS spoke of the beginnings of the “largest private wealth migration in history (1),” during which 44% of their billionaire clients under age 55 had moved once or more within the previous 12 months.
In the last decade, the number of people with a net worth in the millions that moved to another part of the globe has more than doubled (2), with research estimates predicting that 165,000 (2)millionaires worldwide will relocate (and remain there for longer than six months) in 2026, up from 142,000 in 2025.
While this often translates to economic losses for the country that served as the original home of these individuals, it can mean an economic boost for others involved in the equation — especially the companies helping to facilitate such a move.
Immigration is big business
We don’t need to look far to see that across wealth strata, immigration — legitimate, but especially illegitimate (3) — is big business.
There are, of course, the phony immigration lawyers and consultants (4) who make tens of thousands exploiting people looking to flee to countries like the US, or the groups that accept funds to facilitate relocation by forging, for example, international student documents (5).
For the ultra-rich who are happy to pay any amount necessary for legal status, though, the “investment migration industry,” as it’s been called, is also an enormous one, netting an estimated $40 billion per year (6) for specialty companies.
These companies, of which there are hundreds (7), offer a variety of services for different steps of the process. They aid Americans and others eyeing places such as Switzerland, Singapore, the UAE, Malta, Monaco, New Zealand, Australia and Mauritius — the most popular terminuses, known as the “safe haven eight (8)” for their physical, economic and political stability and security.
The US, though still a top spot for the affluent from elsewhere to move their money, has become the key market for these companies, one expert told (7)The Economist (7) .
Some American locales still hold desirability
While Canada has fallen out of favour (9) among the well-off, US cities such as Scottsdale, West Palm Beach, the Bay Area, Miami, Washington DC and Austin remain in the top 10 fastest-growing wealth hubs (10) in the world (as far as millionaire growth), at least as of 2024.
Henley & Partners (8), a leader in “residence and citizenship planning” and research, says that the primary drivers for high net-worth individuals to relocate domestically or internationally include the aforementioned safety, but also high standards of living, including a low cost of living relative to the ability to make — and keep — money.
The safe eight, the firm says (11), all share “well-developed and highly regarded banking and wealth management systems,” along with having high quality school and healthcare systems, advantageous tax programs (especially when it comes to capital gains and income taxes), access to business and stock market opportunities and, last but certainly not least, “lifestyle factors, including climate, nature and scenery.”
H&P notes that, as of 2025, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Singapore and the UAE are “traditionally popular destinations for migrating millionaires, especially for those operating in the financial services sector,” due to their absence of capital gains tax.
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Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
CNBC (1); Henley & Partners (2), (8), (10), (11); U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (3); Mother Jones (4); Inside Higher Ed (5); La Voce Di New York (6); The Economist (7); Better Dwelling (9)
This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Ultra-rich Americans are turning to a $40 billion industry to help them flee the US. Here’s where they’re going instead
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