London is home to more multi-millionaires than any other city in the world, and they are unlikely to abandon the UK capital in the event of Brexit, a study has found.
The city is home to 4,400 “super-rich” people who have net assets worth $30 million (£20.7 million) or more, according to Wealth Insight. The figure is 25 per cent higher than the capital’s nearest rival, Tokyo, and 29 per cent more than Singapore, which is in third place.
In a blow to the Remain campaign’s so-called “Project Fear” strategy, Wealth Insight believes these people are attracted to London due to its status as a world financial centre, and this is unlikely to change after Brexit.
Some in the Remain campaign have claimed London will be overtaken by Frankfurt or Paris as the main financial centre in Europe in the event of the UK leaving the European Union, but the UK capital presently has more than twice as many multi-millionaires than Frankfurt, its nearest rival, and nearly three times as many as Paris.
Last month, respected German economist Martin Hüfner also said claims of impending economic doom if Britain left the EU were exaggerated.
Britain and the EU will still rely on one another, he said, and Paris and Frankfurt do not have the infrastructure and reputation to compete fully with London. He said that “the good people who work there, the English language and the geographical proximity to New York” were reasons why London would stay ahead.
In fact, Brexit could even lead to a “booming Britain” because it will no longer be subject to Brussels bureaucracy and “protectionist and anti-competitive” legislation.
Credit ratings agency Moody’s said in March that the impact of Brexit would be “manageable”, and the costs barely outweigh the benefits.
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