Switzerland is doubling down on its status as a rich-friendly haven after rejecting a tax on the ultrawealthy. Despite competition from other countries, one banking executive says it will remain at the top of millionaires’ lists of destinations to migrate to.
“In our business wealth management and private banking Switzerland will remain the No. 1 location worldwide,” said EFG International AG’s chief executive officer Giorgio Pradelli in a Bloomberg TV interview on Friday.
The bank bosses’ thoughts came before 78% of voters in the alpine nation undeniably rejected a proposal to impose a new national tax on inheritances or gifts of more than 50 million francs ($62 million U.S. dollars).
With that money, those revenues were planned to fund the impact of climate change and combat wealth inequality. The tax would affect about 2,500 people in Switzerland, a small fraction of its population of about 9 million people.
But that tiny faction of people holds a lot of leverage. The top 300 wealthiest residents are worth a combined 850 Swiss francs (or just over $1 trillion). In a report that measured millionaires per capita, Switzerland led globally with about 145 millionaires per 1,000 adults—meaning roughly one in seven Swiss adults is a millionaire. And Pradelli doesn’t see its status as home to the wealthy changing anytime soon.
“I have been bullish about the Swiss financial center also in years when many people were even more pessimistic than today,” he added.
Even with the tax not passing, Switzerland has faced increasing competition from other billionaire havens in the Middle East and Asia. To enjoy the fruits of their fortune, the world’s wealthiest favor migrating toward cities with tax perks and investor-friendly options.
A record number of roughly 142,000 millionaires were expected to relocate globally in 2025, according to the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report. That forecast for millionaires moving is looking to grow to 162,000 by 2026.
The country gaining the most millionaires was the United Arab Emirates, followed by the United States, Italy, and then Switzerland at number four.
The reason for the UAE leading the charts: zero income tax, world-class infrastructure, political stability, and regulatory framework. In addition, its 2019 Golden Visa program, refined in 2022, “has created a compelling proposition,” according to reports from Business Insider.
The United States attracted millionaires looking for Florida and Silicon Valley to keep the top spot for tech entrepreneurs.
Switzerland saw new inflows from Scandinavia and the U.K.—and in light of Britain’s recent tax hikes, it could see more wealthy residents in the coming years.
