Chris Rokos is preparing to relocate from the UK, according to people who asked not to be named because the plans are private. He plans to change his tax residence to Greece and, as a component of that shift, intends to set up an Athens office, they said. A spokesperson for Rokos Capital - manager of about $22 billion - declined to comment.
Per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Rokos's net worth is about $4 billion, and in the Sunday Times' latest top-taxpayers ranking he came in third, incurring a £330 million ($447 million) bill.
Greece has rolled out incentives that are hard to miss: some foreign residents can opt to pay a flat €100,000 ($116,240) a year on all overseas income, alongside a 15-year regime aimed at high net worth investors. Italy offers a comparable 15-year setup, but after recent increases its flat tax on foreign-sourced income is €300,000.
Athens has also tuned its rules for investment pros. Measures adopted this summer aim to prevent double taxation by ensuring foreign funds remain taxed in their jurisdiction of formation, irrespective of an executive's tax residence or whether the company sets up offices in Greece. Fund managers who shift their tax residence to Greece face a 5% rate on carried interest.
It is part of a broader comeback: Greece has regained investment-grade status, its stock market is now classified as developed, and its economic expansion is outpacing many other European countries.
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Rokos's planned move lands as Britain scraps its long-running non-dom regime and raises taxes across areas including private equity, inheritances and capital gains. Since securing victory in the 2024 general election, Labour has focused on wealth through measures covering non-domiciled residents, the treatment of inheritances for family farms and businesses, and changes affecting private equity and private school fees. In her final budget, former chancellor Rachel Reeves brought in a levy on properties valued above £2 million.
The UK has also introduced a four-year Foreign Income and Gains regime that offers full (100%) exemption from UK taxation on income and gains arising abroad, which officials describe as more competitive. Even so, nearby rivals such as Italy and Greece offer longer arrangements that resemble the UK's previous non-dom framework.
Politics and markets are adding pressure. Delivering his inaugural significant address on Monday, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey, said he wants Britain "as a country of wealth creation," and he promised to lighten business costs while stopping short of announcing tax cuts. He is set to deliver his first budget on Oct. 28.
A global bond selloff has erased around half of the £23.6 billion buffer against the fiscal rules that existed in March, a deterioration attributed to the Middle East conflict that has revived speculation about higher taxes on banks, oil and wealth. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who succeeded Keir Starmer in July, has previously backed higher levies on wealth, covering capital gains and land.
Others have already departed. Billionaires Guillaume Pousaz and Nassef Sawiris exited the UK after the previous Conservative government announced early-2024 reforms to the non-dom regime, with the Labour administration bringing in wider changes last year.
Where elite investors choose to base themselves is a tell for how tax policy is reshaping where capital, jobs and new offices land. Greece and Italy are dangling long-term certainty just as the UK rewrites its rules. Circle Oct. 28 on your calendar: the budget will be a clearer read on how the UK intends to compete for talent and investment.
