Billionaire exodus shows Britain is no longer a place for wealth to grow
The Sunday Times’ Rich List has revealed a sharp decline in the number of UK-based billionaires in a worrying sign of the damage Labour’s tax policies are causing, says Jon Shankland
The Sunday Times’ annual Rich List, published its latest iteration last week. Amid the names of the country’s most affluent, the list also revealed something telling about the UK’s wealth landscape. For the second year in a row, the number of UK-based billionaires has declined, sliding to 156 this year from 165 in 2024, representing the sharpest decline in the Sunday Times List’s 37-year-history.
And while the shrinking billionaire class is unlikely to elicit public sympathy, we should all be concerned for what it says about wealth creation in the UK. It is the tip of an iceberg where deeper structural issues in how the UK attracts, generates and retains wealth lie just below the water line.
This decline is happening against a broader backdrop of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) leaving the country. Recent figures from global wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth and investment migration experts Henley & Partners show that more than 10,000 millionaires left the UK in 2024. That marks a 157 per cent increase in departures compared to the previous year, and it is no coincidence that this comes in the wake of the abolition of the non-domiciled (non-dom) tax regime last month.
The non-dom framework made Britain more attractive
The non-dom framework, while historically contentious, did help make the UK an attractive place for global wealth to settle and grow. For years, it sent a message that Britain welcomed entrepreneurs, investors and families who wanted to contribute to the economy. That message now feels unclear at best, hostile at worst.
There needs to be a balance, of course, between ensuring we all pay our fair share and setting the country up for growth. But this is not just about who is leaving, it’s about who now may never choose to come to the UK. That is when we face a problem that affects far more than those at the top of the income spectrum.
This is not just about who is leaving, it’s about who now may never choose to come to the UK
The contradiction is stark. The UK government continues to promote itself as a global destination for investment. The stated ambition of the Office for Investment is to make Britain “the best place in the world for international investors,” but that message clashes directly with recent tax policy. How can the UK credibly position itself as a global investment hub when many international investors are packing their bags and leaving the country?
Whatever your political allegiance, it is a fact that wealthy individuals coming to the UK is normally a net benefit to the economy. They invest in companies, support charitable ventures, create jobs and contribute to public revenues; not to mention the direct taxation that they raise through property purchases and such like.
The Labour government has rightly prioritised economic growth, but policies that deter globally mobile capital undermine that aim. If the UK appears unwelcoming to foreign investors, the effects will stretch beyond the wealthy – affecting jobs, start-ups, and the broader private investment that fuels our economy.
Tax fairness matters and public services must be funded. But we don’t operate in a vacuum. The tax system must reflect global mobility and with cities like Dubai, Singapore and Zurich courting people and capital who feel squeezed elsewhere, the competition can’t be ignored. While the non-dom regime had flaws, reform was a chance to attract international wealth. Instead, the Chancellor’s October Budget risks doing the opposite, undermining the UK’s ability to compete on the international stage.
The Sunday Times’ Rich List, while typically treated as a roll call of fortunes, is also a barometer of the UK’s appeal to the world’s most influential and mobile individuals. The fact that there are less wealthy people in the country is at best a pyrrhic victory for the left leaning among us. At worst, it is a serious cause for concern.
If the UK wants to be a destination for wealth, talent and investment, then we must build policies that support that vision. Otherwise, we risk becoming a place where wealth once came to grow, but no longer stays.
Jon Shankland is partner and head of international private wealth at Weightmans