UK millionaire numbers fall to lowest level since 2008, think tank says
The number of people with over six figures to their name has fallen to 442,000 in 2025 — down by 7 per cent year-on-year and the lowest since 2008, according to centre-right think tank the Adam Smith Institute.
The institute has a so-called ’millionaire tracker’ which measures the number of people in the UK with a net worth of at least £1m in assets such as property, pensions, cash and investments.
The total number of millionaires passed 1m in 2020 before peaking at 1.07m in 2021. Since then it has dropped significantly each year.
The Adam Smith Institute said: “There has [also] been a well-documented trend of high net-worth individuals either leaving Britain or no longer choosing to move here.
"Millionaires are leaving the country for a number of reasons, including the abolition of non-dom tax status, high levels of general taxation, and a hostile culture for wealth creators.”
The ONS measures the value of household assets every two years, meaning there are no official figures for the exact number of millionaires living in the country.
The Adam Smith Institute is urging Andy Burnham to abolish inheritance tax and lower the rate of capital gains tax.
Mr Burnham has refused to rule out levying a new flat rate 10% ’death tax’ to fund free social care for the elderly.
Andrew Griffith, the shadow business and trade secretary, said: “Whatever their personal finances, everyone should care about Britain having fewer millionaires to contribute to the tax pot."
Mitchell Palmer, economist at the Adam Smith Institute, added: “The decline in millionaires may be greeted as a success by some on the Left, but it should instead be viewed as a warning signal. Every millionaire that leaves means less capital for British businesses, fewer international connections, and weaker entrepreneurial spirit in the economy.
Several days ago, Gary Lineker signed a letter along with 120 other UK-based millionaires calling on the new PM to impose higher taxes on the wealthy.
The “Proud to Pay” letter to the Prime Minister, organised by the Patriotic Millionaires UK campaign group, claims the money raised from higher taxes on wealth could be used to reduce inequality, support public infrastructure, and back small businesses.
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