The number of adults in Britain with a net worth of at least £1 million has fallen to its lowest level since 2008, according to recent analysis. The count has declined by 7 per cent to 442,000 in 2025, down from 1.07 million in 2021.
The analysis is based on a statistical model applied to Office for National Statistics household wealth data, which puts the total household wealth at around £10.75 trillion in 2024. The decline in millionaires is attributed to various factors, including higher interest rates, a lack of confidence in the British economy, and the emigration of high net-worth individuals.
The Adam Smith Institute, a centre-right think tank, attributes the decline to a well-documented trend of high net-worth individuals leaving Britain. This is due to various reasons, including the abolition of non-dom tax status, high levels of general taxation, and a hostile culture for wealth creators.
A recent change in the tax regime has also been cited as a factor in the decline. The remittance basis was replaced with a residence-based regime exempting foreign income and gains for up to four years for new arrivals and for those returning after a decade abroad. Some estimates suggest that up to 1,800 non-doms have left Britain since the change.
The ONS measures household assets every two years, and its latest data records 3.7 million households with net wealth above £1 million. Most of this wealth is accounted for by house prices.
The Adam Smith Institute is calling on the government to abolish inheritance tax, cut capital gains tax, and commission an international competitiveness assessment of the UK's tax and regulatory treatment of non-doms and high net-worth individuals.
Allies of Andy Burnham have called on the prime minister to equalise capital gains tax with income tax. Burnham has suggested abolishing inheritance tax and replacing it with a "care levy" to fund social care reform. He has also declined to rule out a wealth tax, prompting warnings that speculation alone is pushing capital out of Britain.
Andrew Griffith, the shadow business and trade secretary, said that Britain having fewer millionaires is a "shameful sign" of a competitive world. He warned that when young and ambitious people are voting with their feet and leaving the country, it is a sign of a lack of competitiveness and a hostile environment for wealth creators.
