More places, more choices
If you are wealthy and mobile, the map around London suddenly looks crowded with options. A ring of cities just a short flight away is selling better weather, easier living and tax regimes modeled on the very policies that once made the UK a magnet. Some are even pitching directly to the rich.
Where Geneva, Monaco and Milan once dominated the shortlist, money is now flowing to spots that would have seemed peripheral not long ago. The shift is chipping away at the UK's wealth-hub aura and, judging by the tone, it is brushing everything from luxury London property to tax receipts. Some observers say Turkey and Greece are courting investors and executives away from Dubai and Abu Dhabi because the Middle East war has tarnished those cities' image of stability.
Who is moving and why it matters
The high-profile moves have stacked up. Switzerland has drawn UK financiers Alan Howard and "godfather of secondaries" Jeremy Coller, while real estate tycoons the Livingstone brothers relocated to Monaco. Hedge fund trader Chris Rokos plans to depart the UK for Greece.
After losing a court fight over how some senior traders should be taxed, Michael Platt's BlueCrest Capital Management said the UK is "no longer a serious contender" for doing business. Billionaire Alex Gerko also lost a case tied to deferred trading profits.
The tug of war is not just London versus Europe. Billionaire hedge fund founder Ray Dalio set up a family office in Abu Dhabi, and according to a person familiar with the situation, famed oil trader Pierre Andurand relocated to Dubai early this year. Andurand's spokesperson declined to comment. Milan's self-styled "empty London" campaign has landed well-heeled arrivals too, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s Richard Gnodde, boosting the city's finance profile.
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Business plans are following. Millennium Management is preparing to open its first office in Athens. And when Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis next visits London, people familiar say meetings with financiers about potential relocations are likely to be on the schedule.
What the regimes look like
Under Greece's program, foreign income isn't taxed locally for 15 years, a setup comparable to Italy. Turkey, for its part, offers the perk for 20 years and couples it with very low inheritance taxes - a contentious area in the UK, which applies a 40% rate once relatively modest thresholds are reached. Elsewhere, Spain's Beckham law offers a flat tax for a set period to foreign arrivals, and high-tax countries such as the Netherlands and Sweden give professionals breaks that compare well with Britain's higher income tax rates.
The UK's answer is a four-year Foreign Income and Gains regime that grants 100% exemption from UK tax on overseas earnings. Dominic Lawrance, a partner at Charles Russell Speechlys, thinks Britain needs to go further, saying people weighing a major move will consider succession laws, schools, nightlife and culture alongside taxes. As he puts it, "Four years is really very short compared to the international rival regimes." Barnett adds that "Almost all clients will make a lifestyle choice," then pick the place that marries that with the best tax setup.
What this means for your money
Despite the headlines, the wider data indicate only a drip: the number of affluent foreign residents using preferential rules on overseas earnings slipped by only 0.5% during the fiscal year ending April 2025, according to tax authorities.
Politics is tuned in. UK Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith told the House of Commons on Tuesday that it would take 38,000 average income tax payers to replace the taxes Chris Rokos paid; Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch later echoed the point, saying the money could have helped fund the UK's defence. Delivering his first major speech on Monday, new Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey said he wants Britain viewed "as a country of wealth creation," pledging to lighten the load on business while not going so far as to cut taxes. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took over from Keir Starmer in July, has in the past supported raising taxes on wealth, covering capital gains and land.
For your wallet, the headline is simple: when tax regimes shift, capital moves with people. Longer exemptions in places like Greece and Turkey can redirect spending power, property demand and startup energy, and they can nudge future policy at home. Watch whether the UK extends its offer or rivals sweeten theirs, because those tweaks have a way of showing up in the opportunities around you.
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