The largest number of foreign billionaires in Switzerland have chosen Geneva to live in
Chinese media group Hurun Report closely monitors both the wealth of the world's richest people and their movements around the world. The global ranking Hurun Global Rich List 2017 shows that although Switzerland ranks 6th in terms of the number of billionaires, only half of them are local citizens, the rest are people arriving from other countries. As noted by the portal Swissinfo.ch, the list is led by the United States.
Such, for example, is the owner of the brewery "AB InBev" Jorge Paulo Lemann, originally from Brazil. Entrepreneur and investor Viktor Vekselberg is originally from Western Ukraine, and Gennady Timchenko even has three citizenships – Russia, Finland and Armenia. For a long time, the richest resident of Switzerland remained the founder of the Ikea concern Ingvar Kamprad, but not so long ago he returned to his homeland in Sweden.
One of the most important incentives attracting wealthy citizens of other countries to Switzerland is the preferential tax regime that many cantons provide to those who have at least a few million francs in their account. The lump-sum taxation system does not consider the income and wealth of the taxpayer, charging an annual fee equivalent to seven times the rental value of his property (so-called "expenditure-based" taxation, as opposed to income taxation).
However, for such a tax regime, several conditions must be met: the taxpayer must not earn all his income abroad and must be a law-abiding resident of Switzerland. Voters in Zurich and some other cantons recently abolished this preferential regime for wealthy foreigners, but a nationwide initiative to abolish lump-sum taxation did not pass during the 2014 referendum, so it still remains in some cantons.
Geneva is mentioned in the Hurun Report as the third city after London and Moscow where the largest number of billionaire immigrants live (12 people). Notably, Zurich does not appear in the top ten at all.
According to the report of Chinese experts, the location of the country of residence is also important for wealthy citizens. Thus, Switzerland, located in central Europe, is one of the best places for millionaires in terms of their movements – from here they can, by boarding a private plane, quickly get to the USA, the Middle East and Asia to meet with partners, visit their enterprises or their branches.
In addition, Switzerland is a neighboring country of the largest "exporter" of billionaires – Germany. Twelve billionaires currently living in Switzerland came from this country, five each from Italy and Great Britain, four from France. Many wealthy foreigners consider Switzerland's multilingualism a plus, which helps them feel at home.
Quality of life also plays a huge role. Swiss trains run strictly on schedule. Literally half an hour in a comfortable carriage – and you find yourself literally in an Alpine fairy tale that takes your breath away. In addition, Switzerland attracts with clean streets and a relatively low crime rate, not to mention Switzerland's political neutrality, which is especially attractive to billionaires from less stable countries than the Confederation.
Wealthy people who do not want to be caught in the lenses of cameras highly appreciate the fact that the Swiss are absolutely calm about the life of the "rich and famous." So-called "celebrities" can enjoy more privacy than at home. It is no surprise that the United Nations recently named Switzerland one of the happiest countries in the world – and not only for billionaires.