More than 10,000 millionaires left Britain last year, partly to avoid higher taxes – with many quitting for more glamorous destinations.
In total Britain lost a net 10,800 millionaires in 2024, according to the New World Wealth (NWW) analytics firm, more than any other country except China.
That is a rise of 157 per cent on 4,200 in 2023.
NWW said the top cities that UK millionaires are moving to are Amsterdam, Dubai, Geneva, Monaco, Paris, Singapore and Sydney.
Millionaires of retirement age have a preference for the Algarve, Florida, the Italian Riviera and Malta.
The news rocks the UK’s international reputation as a hotspot for millionaires to move to, with thousands having emigrated here from the 1950s onwards.
Historically the UK has been a magnet for millionaires from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, NWW head of research Andrew Amoils said.
NWW said that wealth taxes were partly responsible for the exodus, alongside Britain’s diminished role in global technology compared to the US and Asia.
The faltering London Stock Exchange was another likely reason for many millionaires to leave, NWW said.
Between 2017 and 2023 Britain only lost 16,500 millionaires.
Since 2024 non-doms have faced additional taxation risks since, causing many to emigrate.
In March 2024 former Conservative chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that non-doms faced paying UK tax on their overseas earnings for the first time.
Hunt wanted UK residents who moved to the country from April 2025 to start paying UK tax on overseas income after the first four years.
Labour went further in their November 2024 Budget and said the Government would scrap the non-dom status entirely from April 2025.
Amoils said: “Wealthy non-doms have been targeted with additional taxes, which has prompted many of them to leave the country.
“Historically, much of the UK’s appeal lay in its language, English, which is the first or second language of most high net-worth individuals globally.
“However, over time this has become less important as the economies of the other major English-speaking countries (US, Australia, and Canada) have grown.
“Furthermore, there are now several other high-income markets where those who only speak English can get by, including the likes of Singapore, the UAE, New Zealand, Malta, Switzerland, and Mauritius.”
But he added that the reasons for millionaires leaving the UK have “multiple complex drivers”.
These include high capital gains tax and estate duty in the UK, as well as many overseas private schools and universities now improving to be on a par with the UK.
The Treasury has been approached for comment.