Wealthy Americans are preparing to flee the US

Wealthy Americans are increasingly seeking second citizenship to protect themselves against future financial hardship, according to a global law firm that specializes in investment migration and citizenship consulting.

Henley & Partners told CNBC that many of its wealthy clients are considering building “passport portfolios” in case they feel the need to leave their home countries. The motivation for pursuing dual citizenship is to “prepare for a level of instability and uncertainty,” according to Dominic Borek, executive director and head of the private client group at Henley.

“The United States is still a great country and we still have a great passport,” Borek said in a CNBC report published Wednesday morning. “But if I'm wealthy, I want to hedge against that level of volatility and uncertainty.”

“The wealthy are very understanding of the idea of ​​diversification when it comes to their investments,” he added. “It doesn't make sense to restrict citizenship and residence to just one country when you can also diversify that aspect of your life.”

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According to the Henley & Partners Passport Index, which ranks the world's passports based on the number of countries their holders can travel to without a visa, the U.S. passport was tied for seventh as of Thursday, allowing Americans visa-free travel to 188 countries.

France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain are tied for first place in the list of passport holders, allowing them to travel to 194 countries without obtaining a visa in advance.

But the push for second citizenship isn't just limited to wealthy Americans, said Ted Bauman, chief global diversity expert at International Living. Newsweek He said Thursday that the platform works with Americans “of all income levels” who are interested in moving abroad.

“We've seen a definite increase in interest in second citizenship and passports,” Baumann said in an email, “and it's not just the wealthy.”

There are a number of reasons why Americans are interested in leaving the country, but Bauman said economics is the big driver for most, and not just “the more mainstream, small-scale citizenship schemes run by investment consultants.”

“Certainly, some people want to move large amounts of money overseas to protect against things like a dollar collapse,” he continued, “but a broader segment of the population is motivated by the rising cost of living in the United States, especially as the population ages, and health care, communication services and other necessities are becoming increasingly unaffordable for a growing number of people.”

Bauman said political “dysfunction” in the US was also a big reason people wanted to emigrate, and public infighting was “the biggest obstacle to solving the cost of living problem”.

“The federal government can't legislate on anything, let alone difficult issues like health care,” he added, “so for these ordinary middle-class people, moving abroad and getting citizenship is a way to avoid political risks that would have huge economic consequences for them.”

Newsweek Henley & Partners was contacted by email seeking further comment on Wednesday.

A survey released last month by the Monmouth University Polling Institute found that more than a third of Americans want to live abroad. The poll, based on responses from 902 Americans, marked a significant increase from a similar Gallup poll in 2019, in which 16% of Americans surveyed in 2017 and 2018 said they wanted to live abroad permanently.

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Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Institute for Public Opinion Research, previously said: Newsweek It's unclear exactly when the number of Americans wanting to leave the country suddenly increased, but the move was “partisan.” [political] The hatred of the past few years has played a major role in increasing the desire to emigrate.”

Updated April 11, 2024 at 1:56pm: This article has been updated to reflect additional comment from International Living and changes to the rankings.