According to data insights by New World Wealth cited by The Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2024, approximately 128,000 of the world’s millionaires are projected to migrate to a new country in 2024, with the UAE and the USA topping the list of destinations.

Portugal has seen a large influx of wealthy residents over the past decade, especially from mainland Europe, the UK, Brazil, South Africa, China, Turkey, and the USA. Despite recent changes to its popular Golden Residence Permit Program, we expect Portugal to continue to attract large numbers of millionaires over the coming year, with data insights ranking Portugal 9th in the top 10 countries list, with +800 millionaires choosing over 300 days of sunshine a year in 2024.

Millionaire magnet destinations

Data insights highlight the UAE as the leading millionaire magnet for the third year running as it is set to welcome a record-breaking net inflow of 6,700 in 2024. The UAE has received an anticipated influx of larger numbers of Brits and Europeans which means that the Emirates attracts nearly twice as many millionaires as its nearest rival, the US, which is projected to benefit from a net inflow of 3,800 millionaires in 2024.

Singapore takes 3rd place again this year with net inflows of 3,500, while the perennially popular destinations for migrating millionaires, Canada and Australia, follow in 4th and 5th places with net inflows of 3,200 and 2,500, respectively. European favourites Italy (2,200), Switzerland (1,500), Greece (1,200) and Portugal (800) all make it into this year’s Top 10 for net millionaire inflows along with Japan, which is on course to welcome +400 wealthy migrants, boosted in part by an accelerating trend of Chinese HNWIs moving to Tokyo that started post-Covid.

UK trend

According to the report, the UK is expected to see an unprecedented net loss of -9,500 millionaires in 2024 which is second only to China worldwide, and more than double the 4,200 who left the country last year, which was itself record-breaking following the exodus of 1,600 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in 2022.

The UK, and London especially, has traditionally been seen as one of the world’s top destinations for migrating millionaires and for many years (from the 1950s to early 2000s) it consistently attracted large numbers of wealthy families from mainland Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. However, this trend began to reverse around a decade ago as more millionaires began to leave the country and fewer came in. Notably, during the six-year period from 2017 to 2023 post-Brexit, the UK lost a total of 16,500 millionaires to migration. Provisional estimates for 2024 are even more concerning, with a massive net outflow of 9,500 millionaires projected for this year alone.

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Countries forecast to lose the most millionaires in 2024

China is again on track to lose the biggest number of millionaires globally, with an anticipated net exit of 15,200 HNWIs this year (compared to 13,800 in 2023) whereas India has stemmed its wealth exodus, dropping down to 3rd place after the UK with just 4,300 millionaires projected to leave the country in 2024 (compared to 5,100 last year). South Korea’s HNWI flight is expected to rise with a forecast loss of 1,200 millionaires (compared to 800 in 2023) while the tsunami of millionaires that fled Russia following the outbreak of the Ukraine war appears to be significantly dropping with only 1,000 projected to relocate this year (compared to 8,500 in 2022 and 2,800 in 2023).

Besides China, the UK, India, South Korea, and Russia, the remaining places in the Top 10 millionaire outflow ranking are taken up by Brazil where a millionaire drain of -800 is projected this year, followed by South Africa (-600), Taiwan (-400), and Vietnam and Nigeria, which are both set to see 300 millionaires take flight.

As Volek concludes in the report, “the countries with the greatest growth in high-net-worth individuals continue to be those who have prioritized policies designed to entice millionaires to their shores — nine of the Top 10 countries attracting the most millionaires in 2024 have formal investment migration programs and actively encourage foreign direct investment in return for residence or citizenship rights.”

The megatrend of investment migration

As for the most sought-after residence programs enquired about by Henley & Partners’ clients, Portugal’s Golden Residence Permit Program remains a popular choice in 2024 despite ending its real-estate linked investment option, as are Greece’s Golden Visa Program and Spain’s Residence by Investment Program. In terms of citizenship options, Malta’s Citizenship by Naturalisation for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment, which allows for the granting of citizenship by a certificate of naturalization to foreign individuals and their families who contribute to the country’s economic development, is a perennial favorite. And in the Caribbean, Antigua and Barbuda’s Citizenship by Investment Program and Grenada’s Citizenship by Investment Program continue to attract affluent global citizens and their families.

As Volek concludes in the report, “the countries with the greatest growth in high-net-worth individuals continue to be those who have prioritized policies designed to entice millionaires to their shores — nine of the Top 10 countries attracting the most millionaires in 2024 have formal investment migration programs and actively encourage foreign direct investment in return for residence or citizenship rights.”

Why millionaire migration matters?

Millionaire migration figures are an important overall indicator of the health of an economy, especially on the outflow side. For instance, if a country is losing large numbers of millionaires to migration, it is probably due to serious problems in that country. However, the benefits of migration of wealth and talent to these countries include forex revenue, new business, stock markets and job creation.

The figures displayed in the graphic are provisional figures for the full year of 2024. They are based on year-to-date HNWI movements to June 2024. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. ‘Millionaires’ and ‘HNWIs’ refer to individuals with liquid investable wealth of USD 1 million or more.

Read the full Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2024 online.