Millionaires Are Moving to These Countries in Droves

The global migration of high-net-worth individuals has expanded this year, with Australia returning as the top migration destination, according to a report Tuesday from Henley & Partners.

Approximately 120,000 of the world’s millionaires moved to a new country in 2023, according to the consultancy firm, which specializes in residence and citizenship by investment. That’s up from 84,000 in 2022 and expected to rise to 128,000 in 2024, the data showed.

Safety, a lower cost of living, favorable tax regimes and a high quality of life are top reasons for high-net-worth individuals to migrate. The top five destinations for high-net-worth individual migration this year include Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the U.S. and Switzerland, according to the report, which defines high-net-worth individuals as those with US$1 million or more of investable wealth.

Meanwhile, China, India, the U.K., Russia and Brazil lead the ranking of countries with the most people leaving for other shores.

Roughly 82,000 high-net-worth individuals moved to Australia between 2002 and 2022, with another 5,200 arriving this year, the data showed. The country was also in the top spot between 2015 and 2019.

“Australia consistently attracts sizable numbers of millionaires every year, mainly from Asia and Africa, but more recently also from high-income countries such as the U.K.,” according to Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth, which teamed up with Henley & Partners for the report.

The country’s beautiful beaches and wide-open spaces, a high quality of life and an advanced economy, as well as good healthcare and education opportunities, make it a top pick, Amoils added.

Migration to the U.A.E. in 2023 was one of the highest on record, with around 4,500 millionaires moving there.

“Pre-pandemic, the U.A.E. traditionally saw net inflows of around 1,000 high-net-worths per year,” the report said. “Most incoming millionaires in 2023 are expected to come from India, with large numbers also coming from the U.K., Russia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria, Hong Kong and China.”

Dubai has been a clear beneficiary of this trend, with home prices in the city rising nearly 20% annually in the third quarter, according to Knight Frank.

Singapore was the Asian city that saw the most millionaires move in last year, while the U.S. saw a steady stream of new residents migrate from Asia. Switzerland remains Europe’s top wealth hub and attracts new residents because of that, the report said.

This article originally appeared on Mansion Global.

For years, tech entrepreneur Asher Waldfogel and his wife, Helyn MacLean, dreamed of building a modern house in Palo Alto, Calif.

The couple, however, worried about clashing with the Mediterranean-style architecture typically associated with their neighborhood of Old Palo Alto.

So they tapped architect Steven Ehrlich to create a design that paid homage to its surroundings with stucco, mahogany and titanium zinc cladding. They spent $20 million over several years building the house, completed in 2005.

Designed for indoor-outdoor living, the house has matching mahogany paneling and limestone both inside and out. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

The dining room is between an outdoor garden and the staircase. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Now looking to be closer to their adult daughter on the East Coast, they are putting the five-bedroom home on the market for $44 million—the most expensive listing in Palo Alto.

Waldfogel is an angel investor who co-founded Redback Networks, a telecommunications-equipment company. MacLean previously had a career in fundraising.

The kitchen and family room open to the garden and pool. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Cast alcoves and mahogany shelves house the couple’s books and ceramics. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

The couple purchased the roughly 0.4-acre site for $7.1 million in 2000 and demolished a circa-1930s Spanish Colonial home. The house they built pinwheels around a central staircase. It has 7,900 square feet of livable space, with four distinct courtyards and a pool.

A key feature of the home is a cast-in-place concrete wall, or spine, that is two stories high and about 80 feet long. “There’s a little bit of controlled chaos in what comes out of the form,” unlike a perfectly uniform surface, Waldfogel said. “If you want that, you do it in plastic.”

Ehrlich said it took a few tries to get the concrete wall right. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

‘It’s a really hard material to tame,’ Ehrlich said of concrete. Workers learned as they went, and Waldfogel and Helyn grew to appreciate the imperfect material. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

A central staircase is housed in a glass tower. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Waldfogel said he and his wife are thinking about the next phase of life now that their daughter is grown, although they have not decided where they will move. They also have a home in Sun Valley, Idaho.

“Right now we’re just trying to emotionally let go and decide what to do next,” he said.

Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Two wings of the house are connected by horizontal planes. Arthur Sharif/Sotheby’s International Realty

Palo Alto, an epicenter of venture capital and tech startups in Silicon Valley, is home to some of the country’s biggest tech titans. Sales volume and prices are rising, with a median sale price of $3.5 million for the three months ending in August, up 5.8% year-over-year, according to real-estate brokerage Redfin.

Arthur Sharif of Sotheby’s International Realty—San Francisco Brokerage has the listing.

Millionaires Are Moving to These Countries in Droves

A five-bedroom Palo Alto home designed by Steven Ehrlich is listed for $44 million, making it the city’s most expensive listing. Built around a dramatic concrete spine, the home features four courtyards and a pool.