Real Estate Without Borders

Episode: Wealth Migration: Where Are the Billionaires Going?

Date: August 18, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, the hosts dive into the global migration patterns of millionaires and billionaires, focusing on the destinations attracting the wealthiest individuals. Using recent data from Henley & Partners and insights shared by notable figures on Twitter, they break down which countries and cities are seeing the highest relative and absolute growth in wealthy residents, and explore the factors driving this movement—especially for Americans looking beyond domestic borders. The discussion also highlights surprising stats, tax motivations, lifestyle perks, and the characteristics making certain regions more appealing to the ultra-wealthy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Where Are Millionaires and Billionaires Moving?

[00:00–04:38]

• The episode opens with the hosts introducing the topic of wealth migration: "We're just following wealth migration... where the billionaires are going, why they're going there, and we're to compare different cities and countries on where these immigrant billionaires are going to." (B, 00:05)
• The main data source is a chart from Henley & Partners (cited by Alessandro Palumbo on Twitter): focusing on both percentage growth and sheer numbers of millionaires moving to different countries.

Top 10 Countries for Millionaire Growth (2014–2024):

• Montenegro: 124%

• UAE: 98%

• Malta: 87%

• Poland: 82%

• USA: 78%

• China: 74%

• Costa Rica: 72%

• India: 72%

• Latvia: 70%

• Panama: 69%

• The hosts emphasize the difference between percentage growth (favours countries with a low base number of millionaires) and volume: "It's really easy to grow from a low base." (A, 01:57)

Notable Reactions:

• Poland, Latvia, Panama stand out as surprise entries, with Panama and Costa Rica attributed to North American capital flowing south and domestic millionaire creation due to real estate appreciation.
• China and India: growth is primarily from "millionaires that are created within the country, not moving." (A, 04:17)

2. Actual Numbers: Millionaires, Centimillionaires, Billionaires

[04:38–09:00]

The hosts review not just percentages, but sheer volume of wealthy individuals in each country.

Millionaires in Top Destinations:

• Montenegro: 2,800
• UAE: 130,500
• Malta: 12,200
• Poland: 41,700
• USA: ~6 million
• China: 827,900
• Costa Rica: 8,400
• India: 310,000
• Latvia: 3,400
• Panama: 7,500

Centimillionaires (100m+):

• Numbers range widely; USA has 11, China only 2.

Billionaires (Selected):

• USA: 867
• China: 278
• Most other countries have single digits—highlighting huge concentrations of ultra-wealth in the US and China.

"Look at how many billionaires there are in the US—that's the funny part." (A, 05:58)

Wealth Stratification:

• Discussion about how the centimillionaire group is vastly smaller than the millionaire group, leading to a "missing middle" in the upper echelons of wealth.
• "If you can figure out how to make a hundred mil... it's probably not that much different to make a bill. Some billionaire is going to come in and be like, you have no idea, buddy." (A, 06:14)
• Lighthearted reflection on meeting billionaires and their (sometimes) ordinariness. (A, 07:33)

3. Why Montenegro? The Recipe for Attracting the Wealthy

[09:00–16:53]

The hosts and online commenters speculate on why Montenegro is leading in millionaire growth:

• Main Draws:
  • 9% Flat Tax Rate and no inheritance/gift taxes
  • Not part of EU “tax slavery”; EU access without full EU bureaucracy
  • Luxury coastal lifestyle, marina developments (Porto Montenegro, Lustica Bay, Porto Novi), "amusement parks for the rich"
• Strategic Appeal:
  • "Montenegro offers EU access without EU tax slavery... Compared to the west where success gets you punished, Montenegro is basically running the opposite playbook." (A, 11:41 referencing a comment)
• Comparison with Cyprus:
  • Cyprus' higher cost of living, more onerous EU compliance, and inflated real estate prices make Montenegro more attractive for newcomers.
• International trend: Dubai/UAE attracting the wealthy for similar low-tax, pro-capital policies.

"If you look at reasons why people are going to the UAE as well... it's all the same things, right? They respect capital, success isn't punishable." (A, 12:51)

Luxury Real Estate Market in Montenegro:

• Prices:
  • €1,300–2,800/sq.m for mainstream
  • €3,500–6,500/sq.m for prime new builds
  • €8,000–12,000/sq.m for luxury marina properties
• Anecdotes about online property listings and the quality of real estate portals outside North America.

4. From Where to Where: Migration of Billionaires into the U.S.

[16:53–25:35]

Using a Visual Capitalist chart, the hosts identify the top non-U.S.-born billionaires now living in the U.S., plus their countries of origin:

America's Top 10 Richest Immigrant Billionaires

| Name | Net Worth | Origin | Notable For | |------------------------|-------------|------------------|--------------------------------| | Elon Musk | $393B | South Africa | Tesla, SpaceX, X (Twitter) | | Sergey Brin | $100B | Russia | Co-founder, Google | | Jensen Huang | $41B | Taiwan | Founder, Nvidia | | Thomas Peterffy | $34B | Hungary | Interactive Brokers | | Miriam Adelson & fam. | $32B | Israel | Las Vegas Sands Casinos | | Rupert Murdoch & fam. | $20B | Australia | News Corp, Fox | | Peter Thiel | $11B | Germany | Paypal, early Facebook | | Jay Chaudhry | $11B | India | Founder, Zscaler | | Jan Koum | $10B | Ukraine | Co-founder, WhatsApp | | John Tu | $7.2B | China | Co-founder, Kingston Technology|

Notable Comments:

• Musk stands out as a "household name."

  "Elon Musk is certainly on that list from my perspective." (A, 18:46)

• Many of these billionaires have low public profiles despite vast wealth.
• Interactive and personal tone as one host tries to guess flags; other reflects on the global, multicultural nature of American wealth.

On Fame, Wealth & Influence:

• Reference to a Jim Carrey quote:

  "I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer." (B, 23:01)

5. Wealth, Power & Business—A Side Note on Tech Feuds

[25:35–29:53]

• Discussion veers into the conflict between tech leaders, particularly Elon Musk and Sam Altman, focusing on accusations of anti-competitive behaviors in AI (Apple/OpenAI, X’s content ranking).
• Exploration of how dominance in tech platforms can impact wealth, influence, and even politics.

"If you get a chance, listen to Sam Altman's conversation on Lex Talks on Lex Fridman's podcast." (A, 29:19)

6. Wrap-Up: Implications for Global Real Estate Investors

[31:05–32:01]

• Strong interest in hearing from experts and agents in under-the-radar locations like Montenegro and Poland.
• Encouragement for listeners to explore diverse investment opportunities as “these places are becoming more and more discovered as our show becomes the most popular show in the world.” (B, 12:51)
• Closing with an appeal for show suggestions and a reminder to share the episode—especially with “your rich yacht friends who are looking for places to park their boats in cool new ones.” (A, 31:35)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Growth from a Low Base:
  "They had a low base. It's really easy to grow from a low base." — A (01:57)

• On Montenegro’s Unique Appeal:
  "Maybe you're missing, missing the fact that Montenegro offers EU access without EU tax slavery. It's got low tax, lacks bureaucracy, a strategic location and a government that wants high net worth migrants... it's still early game." — A, quoting a commenter (11:41)

• On Wealth Creation Gaps:
  "It's like there's no middle class among the rich people, man. You're either a poor rich person or you're super rich." — A (06:14)

• On American Wealth Concentration:
  "The crazy part to me is...the US has 78% growth and that's 6 million millionaires." — A (04:59)

• On Millionaire vs. Billionaire Aspirations:
  "Most people would be happy being a millionaire, but like, to have like 50 million or 90 million... would also be very happy. Like, most people would feel like that's basically being a billionaire, right?" — A (07:16)

• On Global Attitudes Toward Wealth:
  "Compared to the West, where success gets you punished, Montenegro is basically running the opposite playbook." — A, quoting social media (11:41)

• On Learning and Global Opportunities:
  "It's just all these like man, what's going to happen to places in the west if all these places here are becoming more and more discovered?... so many opportunities for people that are high income earners..." — B (12:51)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–04:38 – Introduction to wealth migration and presentation of Henley & Partners data.
• 04:38–09:00 – Deep dive into raw numbers of millionaires, centimillionaires, billionaires (with commentary).
• 09:00–16:53 – Focus on Montenegro: why it's booming, highlights from comments, luxury development specifics.
• 16:53–25:35 – Where immigrant billionaires in the U.S. are from; personal stories and reflections on fame and wealth.
• 25:35–29:53 – Sidebar on tech influence: Musk vs. Altman, anti-competition in AI.
• 31:05–32:01 – Wrap-up: call for guest suggestions (especially from Poland and Montenegro) and closing notes.

Tone & Style

The episode features an enthusiastic, conversational, and sometimes humorous tone, punctuated by playful banter, genuine curiosity, personal anecdotes, and an encouragement to “learn together.” The hosts avoid jargon, making complex wealth migration trends accessible to all listeners, regardless of experience, while emphasizing community and the international flavor of modern real estate investing.