Inflows of high-net-worth individuals dropped dramatically last year, according to Henley & Partners
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America is no longer as tempting a place of residence for the world’s wealthy as it was before the Covid-19 pandemic, a newly released Wealth Report by London-based immigration consultancy Henley & Partners has found.
According to the report, inflows of high-net-worth individuals to the country dropped more than 80% last year compared with pre-pandemic levels. The figure fell to just 1,500 millionaires in 2022, from up to 10,800 between 2013 and 2019. The report states that “the country is losing its luster among migrating millionaires” and “the ‘American Dream’ is now on life-support.”
The report also noted that the countries where the newcomers originate have changed. While previously the majority of applicants for investment migration programs were from “developing nations who had weak passports, with limited visa-free access and low economic mobility,” most of the current newcomers are now from developed countries.
According to analysts, the rich are a bellwether for the health of an economy due to their ability to move around the globe freely, and this provides “an early warning signal into future country trends.” The firm’s data shows that back in 2014 the US had the largest net inflows of individuals whose wealth amounts to $1 million or more. However, in 2022 the country occupied only the 6th place in this rating, falling behind the UAE, Australia, Singapore, Canada and Switzerland.
“People are still coming, but there’s been a big increase in people who are leaving,” Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth, which assisted in compiling the report, stated.
The report noted that a greater number of wealthy Americans have been moving abroad, “seeking greener pastures abroad at an unprecedented rate,” with some explaining their choice as due to concern over taxes or security. The firm also noted a shift within the country, with smaller cities gaining popularity among wealthy residents, while megapolises like Chicago and New York are seeing large outflows of millionaires.
Despite those trends, the US remains the biggest wealth market worth $65 trillion, with 770 billionaires, 9,630 people worth $100 million or more and 5.3 million high-net-worth individuals, Henley & Partners notes. It is followed by China with $21.7 trillion in private wealth.
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