An astonishing 10,000 millionaires left France in 2015 thanks to rising social tensions caused by Islamic immigration and terrorism. But while Britain has been warned to expect a similar exodus should racial tensions also rise here, the possibility of Britain leaving the European Union is more likely to keep millionaires within our shores.
Overall last year France lost approximately 3 percent of its total number of millionaires, while it’s capital, Paris, lost about six percent of its millionaires. That amounts to some 7,000 people from Paris alone, mostly to the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia and Israel, according to a report by New World Wealth, an agency which compiles data on the global wealth sector.
“The large outflow of millionaires from France is notable – France is being heavily impacted by rising religious tensions between Christians and Muslims, especially in urban areas. We expect that millionaire migration away from France will accelerate over the next decade as these tensions escalate,” the report warns.
China saw the second largest outward flow of millionaires last year, the authors found, followed by Italy, India, Greece, the Russian Federation, Spain and Brazil.
Australia was the largest recipient of new millionaires, with some 8000 coming to settle within her shores last year, mostly to Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. America picked up 7,000 millionaires, followed by Canada, Israel, the UAE and New Zealand.
London saw a net inflow of around 500 millionaires, although many of the 2,500 who left the city moved to other parts of England rather than leaving the country altogether.
“Most of the millionaires that left London were UK born whereas almost all of the millionaires that came into the city were from other countries,” the report’s authors note.
“This may be a trend that continues in future as several wealthy UK born people that we spoke to said they were concerned about the way London and the UK in general had changed over the past decade or so. Australia seems to be their preferred destination.”
The figures were compiled using data collected from investor visa programme statistics of each country; annual interviews with around 800 global high net worth individuals and with intermediaries like migration experts, second citizenship platforms, wealth managers and property agents; data from property registers and property sales statistics in each country; and by tracking millionaire movements in the media, the International Business Times has reported.
But while tensions prompted by mass immigration were clearly of concern to those leaving Europe, the possibility of a British exit from the European Union was not a concern. If anything, those questioned were more likely to welcome the possibility of Britain being able to regain her borders, making a Brexit more likely to keep high net worth individuals within the UK.
They were also heartened by the possibility of a re-introduction of the 2 year working visas for citizens from Canada, Australia and New Zealand if Britain did strike on her own, as well as the possibility of the USA being added to the visa list.
And they wanted to see stronger links being forged with former English colonies, specifically Australia, USA, Canada and New Zealand, as well as India and China, while hoping for weaker alliances going forward with the EU countries, Turkey and the Middle East.
The report notes: “In our view, a Brexit will not result in an outflow of millionaires from the UK. On the contrary, we believe that wealthy UK citizens are more likely to stay in the UK if there is a Brexit. This view is backed up by the fact that most of the wealthy British people we interviewed voiced concern over the UK’s open border policy with Europe.”