Are Millionaires Leaving the UK?
Reports claim a large millionaire exodus from Britain. The most-cited figure is a net loss of about 16,500 millionaires in 2025, from Henley & Partners — but it is heavily disputed, and the UK's overall millionaire count actually rose in the same year.
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Explore CloudLearn Courses →The most-cited claim, from Henley & Partners, forecasts a net loss of about 16,500 millionaires from the UK in 2025 (estimated wealth around US$91.8 billion) — but the figure is heavily disputed and is not official UK data.
Analysts including Tax Policy Associates and the Tax Justice Network argue the underlying data is unreliable; the 16,500 figure equals only about 2.7% of Henley's own defined UK millionaire base.
Despite the exodus reports, the UK's total dollar-millionaire population actually rose in 2025, gaining around 43,000 (UBS Global Wealth Report), as rising asset prices created new millionaires faster than any left.
About These Statistics
The claim. The figure driving the "millionaire exodus" headlines comes from Henley & Partners' Private Wealth Migration Report 2025. It forecasts that the UK will suffer a net loss of about 16,500 millionaires in 2025, with an estimated combined wealth of around US$91.8 billion — which Henley describes as the largest such outflow of any country in the world.
The criticism. That headline figure is contested. Tax Policy Associates, led by the tax analyst Dan Neidle, published a forensic review arguing that Henley's reports "can't be trusted" — summarising the problem as "definitions change, numbers don't". The Tax Justice Network reported that the underlying exodus claim was partly backtracked, and that the study "dropped [its] author and numbers after fake data accusations". Critics also note that 16,500 equals only about 2.7% of Henley's own defined UK millionaire base, and that the estimate rests on New World Wealth data — drawn from sources such as LinkedIn profiles — rather than official records.
The context. There is real movement at the very top, and there are plausible reasons for it. The UK reformed its non-dom tax regime in 2025, changing how residents with a foreign domicile are taxed, and some wealthy residents have relocated. The number of UK billionaires fell from 165 in 2024 to 156 in 2025, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. Genuine mobility among the very wealthy is not in doubt — the dispute is over how large it is and how reliably it can be measured.
The other side of the ledger. Set against the departures is a fact that rarely makes the headlines: the UBS Global Wealth Report found that the UK still gained around 43,000 dollar-millionaires in 2025. Rising asset prices — property, shares and pensions — created new millionaires faster than emigration removed them, so the total millionaire population rose rather than fell.
The bottom line. There is real movement at the very top of the UK's wealth distribution, but the widely-quoted exodus figure is contested and should be treated with caution, while the overall number of UK millionaires is still growing. No official UK government count of millionaire emigration exists, so any single headline number — in either direction — is an estimate rather than a settled fact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Balanced summary of a contested topic
How many millionaires are leaving the UK?
The most widely-cited estimate, from Henley & Partners, forecasts a net loss of about 16,500 millionaires from the UK in 2025. However, that figure is heavily disputed — analysts including Tax Policy Associates and the Tax Justice Network argue the underlying data is unreliable. There is no official UK government count of millionaire emigration.
Is the Henley millionaire exodus figure reliable?
It is contested. Tax Policy Associates' forensic review concluded the reports 'can't be trusted', noting that definitions change while numbers don't, and the Tax Justice Network reported the claim was partly backtracked. The 16,500 estimate is about 2.7% of Henley's own UK millionaire base and is based on New World Wealth data rather than official records.
Why are some wealthy people leaving the UK?
The most cited reason is the 2025 reform of the non-dom tax regime, which changed how UK residents with foreign domicile are taxed. The number of UK billionaires fell from 165 to 156 over the same period. Asset prices and personal circumstances also play a part.
Is the UK's millionaire population actually falling?
No — it rose in 2025. Despite reports of an exodus, the UBS Global Wealth Report found the UK gained around 43,000 dollar-millionaires in 2025, because rising asset prices created new millionaires faster than any left. Mobility at the very top is real, but the overall millionaire count grew.
Millionaire numbers: the conflicting signals (2025)
Different measures point in different directions — which is why the "exodus" question has no single settled answer.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Millionaires created (UBS) | +43,000 |
| Net migration loss (Henley, disputed) | −16,500 |
| Billionaires (Sunday Times) | 156, down from 165 |
Sources: UBS Global Wealth Report 2026; Henley & Partners Private Wealth Migration Report 2025 (disputed); Sunday Times Rich List 2025