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142,000 millionaires relocated in 2025. Who gained, who lost, how much tax matters – and where Vietnam sits in the flow, chart by chart.
Around 142,000 millionaires were forecast to move their residence to another country in 2025 – the most since Henley & Partners began tracking. Wealth flowed towards the UAE, the US, Italy and other places with clear tax rules, while the UK, for the first time, led the outflow. For Vietnamese investors, the lesson isn't who went where. It's that globally wealthy families now hold several residence rights at once instead of tying the whole family to a single country.
Source: Henley & Partners, Private Wealth Migration Report 2025 and 2024 report
Most coverage of the "wealth exodus" is written from a European vantage point: Britain losing taxpayers, Dubai gaining residents. Vietnamese investors sit somewhere else entirely. Vietnam has been the fastest millionaire-making market on earth for a decade, and some of its families have quietly started building a second option abroad.
This piece lays the numbers side by side, chart after chart, so the picture can speak for itself. We also flag where the data is solid and where it deserves a raised eyebrow.
Thirteen Years of Movement: From 51,000 to 142,000
In 2013 roughly 51,000 millionaires changed country. The figure rose steadily to 110,000 in 2019, then almost vanished when the pandemic shut borders: just 12,000 in 2020. Once travel resumed, the flow didn't merely recover, it overshot the old peak – 120,000 in 2023 and a forecast 142,000 in 2025.
View data table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 51,000 |
| 2014 | 57,000 |
| 2015 | 64,000 |
| 2016 | 82,000 |
| 2017 | 95,000 |
| 2018 | 108,000 |
| 2019 | 110,000 |
| 2020 | 12,000 |
| 2021 | 25,000 |
| 2022 | 84,000 |
| 2023 | 120,000 |
| 2024 (Forecast) | 128,000 |
| 2025 (Forecast) | 142,000 |
| 2026 (Forecast) | 165,000 |
Source: Henley & Partners, Wealth Migration Report 2024 (2013–2024) and Private Wealth Migration Report 2025 (2025–2026, forecast)
The 2020 break is the first lesson. When borders closed, even the wealthiest couldn't move – unless they already held residence rights somewhere else. Many families started their applications then, not because they wanted to leave tomorrow, but because they never wanted to be locked in again.
The post-pandemic curve is steeper than the pre-pandemic one. Between 2021 and 2025 the number of movers rose almost six-fold, and Henley projected up to 165,000 for 2026. Even if the exact figures are off, the direction is clear: moving wealth and residence is no longer a rare choice for a tiny group.
Who Gained and Who Lost in 2025
The 2025 ranking shows a new order. The UAE took a net 9,800 millionaires, the US 7,500, Italy 3,600 and Switzerland 3,000. On the other side, the UK lost a net 16,500 – double China, which had led outflows for a decade.
When borders closed, even the wealthiest couldn't move – unless they already held residence rights somewhere else.
The Gulf and southern Europe are the new magnets. Saudi Arabia jumped from about 300 in 2024 to 2,400. Portugal, Greece and Italy were all forecast to hit record inflows on the back of tax incentives, lifestyle and still-active investment migration programmes. Singapore, Australia and Canada still gained, but at their lowest levels on record.
Asia is showing up on the outbound side. South Korea was forecast to lose 2,400, more than double the year before, after a stretch of economic and political turbulence. Vietnam appeared for the first time at around 300 – what the report called a worrying uptick. The number is small, but it arrives exactly when domestic wealth is growing fastest.
Tax Is the Biggest Variable – But Not the Only One
Put the tax chart next to the flows and the pattern is hard to miss: the biggest winners tend to have low income tax or special regimes for newcomers. The UAE levies no personal income tax. Italy, Greece and Portugal all have high headline rates but open side doors for new residents.
Headline rates are only half the story. The other half is the regimes built for new arrivals, and they change faster than most people expect:
| Country | Regime for new residents | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Italy | EUR 200,000 a year flat tax on foreign income | Doubled from EUR 100,000 for arrivals after 10 Aug 2024 |
| Greece | EUR 100,000 a year flat tax on foreign income | Requires a minimum EUR 500,000 investment |
| Portugal | NHR replaced by IFICI (20% for qualifying professions) | NHR closed to newcomers from 2024 |
| United Kingdom | Non-dom regime abolished | From 6 April 2025, replaced by a 4-year regime |
| UAE | 0% personal income tax | Unchanged |
When the rules change, people follow. Britain is the clearest case: abolishing non-dom status coincided with the year it lost more millionaires than any other country. Yet tax isn't everything. Henley also points to quality of life, stability, children's education and access to other markets. A family choosing Lisbon or Athens usually weighs schools and climate as heavily as the tax table.
Vietnam: The World's Fastest Millionaire Maker
According to Henley's 2024 research, Vietnam had around 19,400 dollar millionaires at the end of 2023, up 98% in ten years – the fastest growth in the world, ahead of China and India.
Fast wealth creation brings the protection question forward. Vietnam's first generation of entrepreneurs has built real fortunes, mostly held in domestic property and family businesses. Once children study abroad and companies take on foreign partners, the question of a second residence arises on its own.
Three hundred departures is not a wave. It's a signal that a small group has moved early. Korea and China both show that outflows start small, then accelerate once the wealthy class is large enough and the policy climate turns uncertain.
Vietnam had around 19,400 dollar millionaires at the end of 2023, up 98% in ten years – the world's fastest growth.
Reading the Numbers With a Cool Head
Henley's figures are estimates, not official statistics. They're compiled by New World Wealth (now part of AlphaGeo), largely from public profiles of company founders. Tax Policy Associates, a UK think tank, has argued the method doesn't hold up – among other things, it puts the UK's millionaire count at nearly double what official data suggests.
Henley itself has changed tack. Its June 2026 edition no longer publishes country inflow and outflow rankings. It scores 12 dimensions instead – tax, rule of law, quality of life, family inclusion and more – and argues that wealthy families are building "sovereign portfolios" of residence rights across several countries. So read the numbers above as a compass, not a map accurate to the last person.
A practical strategy for Vietnamese investors
Read the trend, don't chase the league table. This year's top destination can rewrite its rules next year, as Portugal and the UK did. Favour countries with stable law and programmes that have run for years.
Secure residence before you need it. The lesson of 2020 is that residence rights are most valuable when they're already in your pocket. Applications often take from several months to over a year.
Separate the tax decision from the lifestyle decision. Some families keep their core assets in Vietnam, hold European residence through something like an apartment in Athens, and change tax residence only with a clear plan and professional advice.
Diversify by region. Pairing a European option with one in the Americas or the Mediterranean – Cyprus or Panama, for instance – keeps a family from depending on any one government's policy.
Frequently asked questions
How many millionaires relocated in 2025?
Henley & Partners forecast about 142,000, the highest on record. Its 2026 report did not republish country-level figures.
Why did the UK lose the most millionaires?
The end of the non-dom regime in April 2025, high capital gains and inheritance taxes, and policy uncertainty are the reasons most often cited. The figures are estimates and are disputed by some tax researchers.
Should Vietnamese investors move their tax residence now?
Not necessarily. For most families the sensible first step is a back-up residence right; changing tax residence calls for advice tailored to each case.
NAC strategic insight
None of these numbers say everyone should leave. They show that globally wealthy families now treat residence as an asset to diversify, just like equities or property. Vietnam creates millionaires faster than anywhere else, yet most of that wealth still sits in one country, one currency and one legal system.
NAC helps Vietnamese families build their second option calmly: comparing programmes, vetting the assets attached to them and mapping a route that fits their children's plans. If you'd like to start from your own family's situation, book a consultation with NAC.
Sources
- Henley & Partners — Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2025 (2025)
- Henley & Partners — Private Wealth Migration Report 2026: methodology (2026)
- VnEconomy — Vietnam registers fastest global growth in number of millionaires (2024)
- PwC — Worldwide Tax Summaries: personal income tax rates (2025)
- Tax Policy Associates — Are Henley & Partners' millionaire-migration reports fabricated? (2025)
