Russia is expected to lose 15% of its millionaires this year as its wealthiest citizens move abroad following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and ensuing Western sanctions, according to a new analysis from a London-based firm cited by The Guardian on Tuesday.
Around 15,000 wealthy Russians who have $1 million in readily available assets will leave the country by the end of 2022, the Henley & Partners investment migration consultancy said in its report.
“Russia [is] hemorrhaging millionaires,” said Andrew Amoils, the head of research at New World Wealth, which compiled the data for Henley.
“Historically, major country collapses have usually been preceded by an acceleration in the emigration of wealthy people, who are often the first to leave as they have the means to do so,” he added.
Despite the reported departures of wealthy Russians, reports have said that many of the country’s ultra-rich elites have consolidated around the Kremlin after the initial shock of the invasion died down.
In Ukraine, 2,800 millionaires (or 42% of the country’s high net-worth individuals) are expected to have left by the end of the year, making it the country with the greatest loss of wealthy citizens as a proportion of its population.
