Hey there. Orianna here from Fortune.
Is relocating your New Year’s resolution?
The U.K.’s wealthiest residents are packing their bags—fast. In 2025, more millionaires left the country than in any other.
But of course, it’s not just Britain experiencing this “brain drain.” A record number of roughly 142,000 millionaires were expected to relocate globally in 2025, taking $91.8 billion in revenue with them. And the forecast for millionaires moving is looking to grow to 165,000 by 2026.
But one CEO is urging high earners to resist the instinct to run.
Martin Ott, the former Meta exec now running Taxfix, a Berlin-based unicorn, acknowledges that some of his wealthiest U.K. users are actively plotting their escape. But he has a message for them that cuts against the trend: stay put.
“Saving taxes is one thing, but at the same time, you also have a social responsibility to make sure you invest in a country,” he told me.
He says many of his peers—people who could easily relocate to Dubai or Montenegro—are choosing to stay put. “They’re saying, we’re not moving… We really want to make sure we also give back and build cool stuff that makes it worthwhile staying.”
In his eyes, wealth creates an obligation to keep the ecosystem healthy for the next wave of builders, operators, and job seekers. If the country’s top founders and high earners leave, it will weaken the very ecosystem they once thrived in.
Ott knows firsthand what it’s like to build through uncertainty. His early fintech days were molded during the financial crisis, where he was holding hundreds of millions in customer funds while banks looked like they might collapse overnight. But he credits the experience with teaching him how to manage when the chips are down—and that downturns aren’t forever.
“I can only just encourage everyone to stay, build great new businesses, create an environment where entrepreneurs want to start something.”
—Orianna Rosa Royle
Success Associate Editor, Fortune
Are you looking to emigrate to save wealth in the new year? Get in touch: orianna.royle@fortune.com. You can also find me on Linkedin: @oriannarosa.
