Britain could see a significant drop in its number of US dollar millionaires by 2028, with a projected decline of nearly one in six, according to the UBS Global Wealth Report for 2024 released on Wednesday. The report predicts that the number of dollar millionaires in the UK will decrease by 17 percent, falling to 2,542,464 from 3,061,553 in 2023. Similarly, the Netherlands is expected to experience a 4 percent drop, reducing its millionaire count to 1,179,328 from 1,231,625.
Paul Donovan, the chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, attributed part of this shift to the UK's current disproportionately high number of millionaires, which is the third highest globally. He also noted the impact of recent sanctions against Russia and the UK's decision to abolish its 'non-dom' tax status, which allowed wealthy foreign residents to avoid tax on overseas income. Donovan emphasized that this trend is not solely due to UK policies but also reflects the attractive 'pull factors' of other countries like Dubai and Singapore.
Separately, British real estate group Winkworth highlighted that demand for high-end properties has been affected by tax policies targeting the wealthy and a proposed tax on private schools by the new Labour government. Meanwhile, the UBS report forecasts a rise in the number of dollar millionaires in several countries, including the United States (16 percent increase), Germany (14 percent), France (16 percent), Japan (28 percent), Spain (12 percent), and Italy (9 percent).
Globally, wealth is defined by UBS as the value of financial and real assets owned by households minus their debts. The report, covering 56 markets representing approximately 92.2 percent of global wealth, indicates that global wealth increased by 4.2 percent in 2023 following a 3 percent decline in 2022. By 2028, the number of adults worth over $1 million is projected to rise in 52 of these 56 markets, with Taiwan expected to see the strongest growth of 47 percent, driven by its microchip industry.
Over the 15 years since UBS began publishing its report, the Asia-Pacific region has experienced the most significant growth in wealth, increasing by nearly 177 percent, followed by the Americas at 146 percent, and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) at just 44 percent. However, the Asia-Pacific region has also seen the sharpest increase in debt, with total debt rising by over 192 percent since 2008.
