Over 15,000 millionaires could leave Russia following Ukraine invasion

Wealthy Russian citizens are reportedly turning their back on Russian President, Vladimir Putin, following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, with over 15,000 millionaires expected to flee the country this year, as per the analysis of migration data.

According to the report on migration data by citizenship planning firm Henley & Partners, nearly 15% of Russians having over $1 million in ready assets are anticipated to emigrate abroad by the end of this year.

Andrew Amoils, Head of Research, New World Health, stated that rich individuals have been increasingly emigrating from the country in rising numbers over the past ten years, an early warning sign of the current problems the country is facing.

Amolis added that historically, before a major country collapses, there is an acceleration in the emigration of the rich people, as they are usually the ones having the means to leave first.

Ukraine, on the other hand, is slated to witness a greater loss of its high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) with around 42% of all HNWIs, which is around 2,800 millionaires, estimated to flee the country by end of 2022.

Traditionally, the world’s wealthy have set their eyes on the US and UK as the go to destinations to emigrate. However, according to the Henley report, which is based on Henley’s systematic tracking of international trends on private wealth migration, the United Arab Emirates is expected to overtake the two as the number 1 destination.

Around 4,000 HNWIs are anticipated to emigrate to the UAE by end of 2022, followed by Australia, which is expecting to attract 3,500 HNWIs, Singapore, with 2,800, and Israel, with 2,500.

Many are also expected to flee to Monaco, Malta, and Mauritius.

Amolis explained that Malta has witnessed great success not only in millionaire migration but also in terms of overall wealth growth and is one of the fastest-growing markets globally.

He stated that by introducing citizenship by naturalization, the island nation got substantial new wealth which can be credited to strong growth in various sectors including real estate, financial services, and IT.

Mauritius and Monaco also offer many tax benefits, becoming hot spots for the wealthy. While Mauritius currently houses 4,800 HNWIs, seven out of ten residents in Monaco are dollar millionaires.