Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2025: Fact, Fiction, or Marketing?
Henley & Partners claims a record number of millionaires are relocating in 2025 — but are the numbers real, or just PR spin?
The Annual Bombshell: A Masterclass in Marketing
Every year, the investment migration industry holds its breath for one key publication: the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report.
Released by Henley & Partners in collaboration with the global wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth, it drops like a bombshell, its findings ricocheting across the internet.
Within hours, the exclusive millionaire migration data appears in headlines from Bloomberg and Forbes. Politicians quote it in parliament (“We are losing our wealth creators!”), and it becomes fodder for think tanks and policy debates. The media coverage is immense.
This week, they did it again.
The Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2025 predicts a record 142,000 millionaires will relocate internationally this year. This projected millionaire migration has everyone talking. A record provisionally expected number that suggests global migration peaks are being reached.
Sounds dramatic, right?
Only… as someone who actually speaks to high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) every single day, I can tell you this:
🚩 These numbers don't add up. At all.
What the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2025 Claims
Before we deconstruct the figures, let's give an overview of what the Wealth Migration Report 2025 actually says. The report paints a picture of a world in motion, with clear winners and losers in the global competition for wealth.
The Global Winners: The World's Leading Wealth Magnets
According to the private wealth migration report, the UAE continues to be the world's leading wealth magnet. It is projected to attract record numbers with a record net inflow of over 7,000 millionaires.
The Middle East as a region is booming, its investment appeal strengthened by favorable tax regimes.
Surprisingly, the report claims a European country leads the pack for the number two spot: Italy. This is a bold claim we'll return to.
Other key beneficiaries of millionaire migration include traditional destinations like Switzerland and Singapore, alongside rapidly emerging, more investor friendly hubs.
Dissecting the Net Inflow Numbers
The report's inbound millionaire migration rankings are a key feature. A high net inflow is presented as a sign of a healthy, attractive economy.
The UAE's success is a story that has been building over the past decade. In stark contrast, other nations are struggling, showing the lowest net inflows or even significant net HNWI losses.
Even a small net gain of a few hundred millionaires is framed as a victory for some countries.
The Global Losers: Countries Facing an Exodus
On the other side of the ledger are the global losers. The Henley Private Wealth report suggests the UK is at the top of the "millionaire loser leaderboard", with the largest net outflow ever projected.
China continues to see significant wealth losses, with thousands of its wealthiest residents expected to leave in a trend of historic wealth flight.
A Closer Look at the Outflows
The report details various degrees of capital flight. The UK and China are facing significant net outflows and what could be described as sizeable wealth drains.
Other developed nations, like Japan, are noted for experiencing only relatively modest outflows, and in some years, the lowest net millionaire losses among major economies. These modest outflows are often overlooked in the dramatic headlines.
How Many Millionaires Are There in the UK — According to Henley?
Let's be honest:
There are over 600,000 millionaires in the UK by Henley & Partners' definition, which includes only liquid investable assets. The total millionaire population is much larger.
Other sources place the total number of millionaires at around 3 million.
So Henley's forecast that 16,500 liquid millionaires will leave the UK in 2025 represents roughly 2.7% of their defined total.
Not insignificant — but not quite an “avalanche.” The UK expected to see these millionaire departures is a major talking point, reflecting a worrying uptick.
Germany: 400 Millionaire Exits? Laughable.
According to the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2025, only 400 millionaires will leave Germany in 2025.
That is absurd.
My firm alone has direct contact with over 1,000 high-net-worth individuals per year from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. A significant portion of them are either in the process of leaving, already relocated, or planning an exit.
We see entrepreneurs selling their firms, crypto investors looking for capital gains protection, and pensioners escaping the looming inheritance tax reforms. The millionaire outflows are palpable.
The true figure is many multiples of Henley's estimate.
Italy: 3,600 Incoming Millionaires? Really?
Henley & Partners says 3,600 new wealthy migrants will move to Italy in 2025. This would mean a massive net inflow. On what basis?
Here are the facts:
Italy's flat-tax non-dom regime saw around 1,000 new applicants per year in its best years.
In 2024, the government doubled the minimum tax, making the scheme significantly less attractive.
Bureaucratic
Legally unpredictable
Unfriendly to entrepreneurs
Yes, the lifestyle appeal and luxury real estate options are great. But tripling the intake during a year of tax increases? Highly implausible.
Beyond the Headlines: A Deeper Look at the Trends
The report scratches the surface, but the real story of world wealth migration is more complex.
The Rise of the Middle East
The continued dominance of the Middle East is undeniable. Its combination of a favorable tax regime, modern infrastructure, and global connectivity makes it a prime destination for wealthy individuals relocating.
Europe's Shifting Landscape
While the report suggests a specific European country is a winner, the broader trend is one of capital flight. Many affluent europeans are leaving. EU heavyweights France, Germany, and others are losing their appeal. For affluent europeans relocating, the promise of economic stability lies elsewhere.
The BRICS Dilemma: A Stark Contrast
The report highlights massive outflows from China. The situation for other BRICS nations is also complex. India, for example, sees significant millionaire migration outflows but also creates new HNWIs at a rapid pace. This reflects the ongoing instability and opportunities within these economies.
Regional Nuances: Latin America and Africa
The drivers of wealth migration vary globally. In Latin America, political instability is often a primary motivator. The report also notes consistent millionaire departures from three African nations, typically South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt, driven by economic and social challenges.
But Here's the Real Loss: Not the Millionaires, but the Middle-Tier Earners
The private wealth migration report obsessively tracks HNWIs, but completely ignores the flight of upper-middle-class professionals.
These are not "millionaires" on paper — but many earn £150–£500k per year, pay a lot of UK income tax, and now pay zero.
The Real Risk: A Hollowing-Out of the Productive Class
What does it mean for the UK economy?
It's not the ultra-rich leaving that hurts most — it's the mass departure of tax-paying professionals in their prime.
The UK's tax base is unusually dependent on the top 1%. So when Henley & Partners frames millionaire migration as the main story, they miss the bigger economic picture and the real threat to the UK's economic competitiveness.
So What Is the Point of the Report, Really?
Let's call the Wealth Migration Report what it is:
✅ A marketing tool for the investment migration industry
✅ A signal to governments about their fiscal competitiveness
✅ A data-lite talking point that generates media coverage
But it is not a deep economic analysis.
It tells us where rich people say they're going — but not why, or what impact it has on public finances. This represents a pivotal moment, where there's a deepening perception that headline numbers are more important than real data.
What Henley Gets Right — And What They Miss
Let's give credit where it's due.
The Henley Private Wealth Migration Report is correct about the direction of flows over the past decade:
The UK is indeed facing a massive “WEXIT”.
The UAE continues to dominate, with Singapore as its key rival, especially with its tech driven economy.
And yes, France, Spain, and Germany are no longer wealth magnets.
But beyond that, the granularity of their projections feels more like a brochure than a dataset. It's not serious demographic work — it's part sales tool, part think piece.
What Should Policymakers Really Be Tracking?
If you want to know whether your country is getting richer or poorer — don't just track migrating millionaires.
Track:
How many young high earners are leaving
Where entrepreneurs are moving their companies
Where capital is being banked and invested
Millionaire migration is a symptom, not the cause.
Final Thought
Henley & Partners is brilliant at what they do. Their marketing is world-class. Their global reach is unmatched.
But if you're a serious investor or entrepreneur planning to relocate internationally — treat their private wealth migration report like you would treat a glossy hotel brochure:
📸 Pretty pictures.
📊 Questionable stats.
💼 Useful only when paired with boots-on-the-ground advice from experienced wealth advisors.
Need help navigating this landscape?
My team and I advise high-net-worth individuals daily on how to legally reduce taxes, set up proper offshore structures, and build resilient global lifestyles — without falling for hype.
We provide the real-world insights that reports from firms like Henley & Partners can't give you. Contact us for a confidential consultation.
