Around 200,000 individuals in the world have over US$30 million in assets. A staggering 83% of the amassed wealth of these people is held in the United States, Japan and Germany. When it comes to billionaires, the cities with the largest concentration of these ultra-rich individuals are New York, Moscow and London.
Billionaires Love New York, Moscow and London
With its reputation for being the big apple of the land of the free, New York is an understandable choice for the wealthy. It offers cultural diversity and a concentration of business and finance people that just makes things easier – especially for its very wealthy citizens. All the billions of dollars floating around in Russian oligarchs’ hands make Moscow another obvious place where you can expect to find the ultra-rich. But, what is the attraction to London? Known for cloudy skies, bland food and crazy property prices, why would this be the top choice of somebody wealthy enough to live anywhere in the world? It is certainly not only because of patriotism. A scant third of the ultra-wealthy Londoners are English, and the rest is made up of foreigners like the Russian oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov and Pakistanis Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja.
Why Gloomy London is a Top Pick?
It is all about money, football, glitzy shopping and divorce courts. The UK’s very relaxed tax laws draw billionaires to invest in property in London. Income tax in the UK is not only lower than many other countries, the country doesn’t tax citizens on income earned elsewhere in the world and offers a stable economy. Football crazy England is also perfect for wealthy football crazy people like Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich who owns Chelsea FC and his fellow rich Russian Alisher Usmanov who owns shares in Arsenal FC. For the wives of the very wealthy, London is a vibrant city with fantastic shopping, safety and top private schools. And should things go wrong, the UK has exceptionally female-friendly laws when it comes to divorces. What more can your average ultra-rich family wish for?