UK capital loses more rich residents than anywhere else on Earth, second only to Moscow – as Labour’s high taxes and falling pound blamed for exodus.
London is no longer one of the five wealthiest cities on the planet, after suffering a dramatic exodus of millionaires that has seen tens of thousands of the super-rich abandon the capital over the past decade.
According to the latest World’s Wealthiest Cities Report 2025, published by international wealth advisors Henley & Partners in collaboration with New World Wealth, London has lost a staggering 11,300 dollar millionaires in the past year alone, including 18 centi-millionaires and two billionaires.
The city now ranks sixth globally, overtaken by Los Angeles, which has surged ahead thanks to a growing population of ultra-wealthy residents and a more favourable tax environment.
In total, London is home to 215,700 millionaires, defined as individuals with more than $1 million in liquid investable assets such as cash, shares and bonds. But that figure has fallen 12% — making London and Moscow the only two cities in the global top 50 to have seen their millionaire populations shrink over the past decade. By comparison, Paris saw a 5% rise in millionaires over the same period.
Millionaire Meltdown
In absolute terms, no city on Earth has lost more millionaires than London in the past ten years — around 30,000 have left, compared with 10,000 in Moscow, where the fall is largely attributed to Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Experts have pinned the blame for London’s sharp decline on the Government’s rising taxes and the fall in the value of the pound.
Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at New World Wealth, said:
“Capital gains tax and estate duty rates [inheritance tax] in the UK are among the highest in the world, which deters wealthy business owners and retirees from living there.”
“It’s worth noting that most of the companies on the FTSE 100 were started by centimillionaires, so the loss of these individuals has a massive impact on an economy.”
Exile of the Elites
The crisis deepened last week as Labour scrapped the UK’s centuries-old non-domiciled tax regime, which previously allowed wealthy foreigners to shelter their global wealth from British taxes by paying a flat fee starting at £30,000.
From this week, that system has been replaced with a far more restrictive residence-based tax system, meaning anyone who has lived in the UK for more than four years will now face UK income and capital gains tax on their worldwide earnings — and eventually, a 40% inheritance tax on global assets.
Wealth advisers say the change has triggered a surge in relocations, with high-net-worth individuals fleeing to lower-tax destinations such as Portugal, St Kitts and Nevis, Spain, Greece, the UAE and Italy, where taxes are lighter or capped at a fixed annual fee. Italy, for instance, offers wealthy newcomers a €200,000-a-year deal to shelter their global wealth.
A Shadow of Its Former Self
The report paints a gloomy picture of London’s fading financial dominance. Once the epicentre of global finance, the UK capital has seen its stock exchange — once the world’s largest by market capitalisation — plummet to 11th place. There has been a wave of company de-listings and a dearth of major new public offerings in recent years.
Amoils added:
“The continued ascendance of nearby financial hubs such as Dubai, Paris, Geneva, Frankfurt and Amsterdam has eroded London’s status as Europe’s top financial centre.”
A New Global Order
New York remains the world’s wealthiest city, with 384,500 millionaires, followed by the San Francisco Bay Area(342,400), Tokyo (292,300), Singapore (242,400) and Los Angeles (220,600).
The US now dominates the Top 50, with 11 cities on the list. Even Manchester managed to secure 46th place, with 23,400 dollar millionaires.
Meanwhile, fast-rising wealth hubs such as Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Dubai have seen their millionaire populations more than double in the past ten years, with Dubai jumping three places to 18th thanks to its zero-tax regime and investment-friendly policies.
Seven of the world’s ten wealthiest cities now lie in countries that offer residence-by-investment schemes, giving wealthy individuals fast-track routes to citizenship or residency in exchange for economic contributions.
Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, said:
“A clear pattern is emerging in 2025: cities that blend investment freedom with lifestyle dividends are winning the competition for mobile capital.”
“These urban centres share common DNA — robust legal frameworks, sophisticated financial infrastructure and, perhaps most critically, investment migration programmes that welcome global talent and capital.”
Still Eye-Wateringly Expensive
Despite the haemorrhage of wealth, London remains one of the most expensive cities in the world, ranking fourth behind Monaco, New York and Hong Kong in terms of average property prices per square metre.
Prime central London homes still cost around $24,000 per m², underscoring the paradox of a city that remains costly to live in, yet increasingly unattractive for the world’s wealthiest to call home.
Top 10 Wealthiest Cities in the World (2025)
- New York – 384,500 millionaires (+45%)
- San Francisco Bay Area – 342,400 (+98%)
- Tokyo – 292,300 (+4%)
- Singapore – 242,400 (+62%)
- Los Angeles – 220,600 (+35%)
- London – 215,700 (–12%)
- Paris – 160,100 (+5%)
- Hong Kong – 154,900 (+3%)
- Sydney – 152,900 (+28%)
- Chicago – 127,100 (+24%)
As London slides down the ranks, the question remains: can the city regain its crown as a global wealth capital — or is Britain’s golden age of prosperity well and truly over under this Labour Government?
Source: https://www.henleyglobal.com/newsroom/press-releases/wealthiest-cities-report-2025
Main Image: For illustration purposes only. Image created with AI.
