London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 24, 2025

Britain’s super-rich prepare to flee as prospect of socialist rule looms

Britain’s super-rich prepare to flee as prospect of socialist rule looms

For more than a year, some of the country’s wealthiest people have been preparing for a hard separation from the European Union. But it turns out they fear Jeremy Corbyn’s opposition Labour party even more.

No-deal Brexit? That’s no problem, at least for Britain’s wealthiest people.

Their bigger fear is leftist firebrand Jeremy Corbyn.


For more than a year, some of the country’s most affluent have prepared for a hard separation from the European Union, making clear they can take a chaotic Brexit in their stride. But the prospect of a victory by Corbyn’s Labour Party is turning out to be the more worrisome development.

“It’s clear there would be a major outflow of high-net-worth individuals and families if a Corbyn government was to come to power,” said Chris Kalin, group chairman of Zurich-based Henley & Partners Group, which helps the rich relocate to tax havens. “This is the big fear, not Brexit or even a no-deal Brexit. That doesn’t make any difference to our clients.”

Potential changes the rich are preparing for, if Corbyn comes to power, include Labour’s desire to increase income taxes for anyone earning more than 80,000 pounds (US$97,600) and a possible wealth tax.

A report commissioned by the party called this year for higher taxes on empty homes, honing in on the luxury apartments left vacant in London’s glitzy Knightsbridge district put on the market for more than US$100 million. It also recommended reforming inheritance tax laws and an extra levy on real estate owned by foreigners, potentially hitting scores of billionaires, including Zara founder Amancio Ortega.

A wealth tax would need to take into account where someone lives as salaries and living costs are higher around London, according to Mark Davies, a London-based tax adviser to rich individuals. “There’s a massive discrepancy from the southeast to other parts,” he said. “Everything is being looked at from a single nation point of view, but the reality is there’s a difference in where you live.”

Financial secrecy could also be hard to come by under a Corbyn-led Labour government.

In a report on tax transparency published two years ago, the party called for individuals earning more than 1 million pounds a year to file tax returns publicly. It also raised the prospect of a public ownership register for trusts and all company shareholders, going further than existing measures that require disclosure of only major shareholders.

Data leaks from offshore law firms such as the one three years ago from Panama’s Mossack Fonseca could spur a Labour government to consider even greater financial transparency. Highlighting his personal interest in the matter, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell queried the Conservative government’s progress last year on investigations into individuals exposed in the data leak.

Labour has also vowed to undo the privatisation of key industries undertaken by Margaret Thatcher, Conservative prime minister during the 1980s. Corbyn is committed to re-nationalising the energy, water, and rail sectors, as well as Royal Mail Plc. That could cost investors as the government may compensate stockholders on a book value basis rather than market value.

Virgin Trains, owned by billionaires Richard Branson and Brian Souter, has a UK rail franchise set to expire in the next six months, but the firm announced plans this year for a new service from 2021 between Liverpool and London.

Elsewhere, Labour plans to ask companies with more than 250 employees to direct 10 per cent of their equity shares to “inclusive-ownership funds” controlled by workers. And, the party has targeted property investors by embracing a policy to require them to sell homes to tenants at potentially below-market prices.

McDonnell sparked fears two years ago when he said the party was preparing for a possible run on the pound if it won power, raising the prospect of capital controls – restrictions on the movement of money – if Labour was elected. The shadow chancellor has since stressed that the party will not introduce such measures, but wealthy individuals have increasingly prepared to leave the UK, according to John Elder, founding partner of wealth advisory firm Family Office Advisors.


Over the past 18 months, some super-rich families Elder knows have opened bank accounts in Portugal, Monaco, Malta and other places that welcome the wealthy with low tax requirements and speedy citizenship approvals. Some have even run the numbers on using private aircraft firm NetJets to commute to the UK if they leave the nation.

The potential exodus by wealthy British citizens came into focus last year when it emerged Jim Ratcliffe, founder of global chemicals manufacturer Ineos AG and the UK’s richest person, was moving to Monaco along with two other billionaire Ineos directors. But it is not just Monaco and Switzerland vying for the UK’s richest exiles. Italy set up a flat annual tax of 100,000 euros (US$110,190) to lure wealthy foreigners two years ago. One notable beneficiary: soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who moved last year to Juventus Football Club in Turin.

“Many of our clients come from jurisdictions where there’s been far-left regimes, like Brazil,” said Davies. “They say we know what this is: they tax the rich and essentially give away their money. It always reminds me of one of one of Margaret Thatcher’s favourite quotes: the trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
×