# Number of UK millionaires shrinks to lowest level since financial crisis

**By:** Tom  Haynes, Melissa Lawford  
**Published:** 2026-07-27T12:41Z  
**Source:** [The Telegraph](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/07/27/number-of-uk-millionaires-shrinks-lowest-two-decades)

---

The number of British millionaires has dropped to its lowest level in nearly two decades as the property market slumps and high taxes under Labour drive rich people offshore.
The Adam Smith Institute (ASI), a think tank, estimated there were now 442,000 people in Britain with wealth of more than £1m, down 7pc from last year and the lowest level since the 2008 financial crash.
It blamed the decline on falling property prices and an exodus of wealthy individuals following Labour’s changes to the non-dom regime.
Mitchell Palmer, from the think tank, said the shrinking millionaire population should be viewed as “a warning signal”.
He said: “Every millionaire that leaves means less capital for British businesses, fewer international connections and weaker entrepreneurial spirit in the economy.”
 Mr Palmer’s comments come amid speculation that Andy Burnham could introduce a wealth tax, a policy popular on the Left.
The Prime Minister has previously said that Britain has “ overtaxed labour and undertaxed wealth ”. He refused to rule out a wealth tax in a recent interview, saying: “We need a greater sense of fairness and people feeling that things are being done in the right way and a fair way.”
 Steve Rotheram, the Mayor of Liverpool and a key ally of Mr Burnham, said on Monday he would “look seriously at a wealth tax” to fund social care and defence.
In an interview with The News Agents podcast, he said there are “even wealthy people saying that there could be a small additional tax on them to try and dig us out of a bit of a hole”.
The institute warned that such a move would further accelerate the exodus of wealthy individuals.
Stricter rules on non-doms – UK residents who are registered to pay tax abroad – have already pushed away wealthy international residents.
Provisional HMRC figures last year showed there were 60,700 non-doms resident in the country in 2023-24, 30pc less than in 2014-15. The crackdown on non-doms began under the Conservatives but was intensified under Rachel Reeves, the former chancellor.
Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman, said: “Labour’s policies are driving successful people away from Britain, as this latest report from the ASI shows.
“Each millionaire that leaves means less money for the NHS or defence, higher taxes for working people and fewer good jobs. We can’t build an economy on envy.”
 High interest rates and Labour’s planned mansion tax have also hit property values at the top of the market. The number of £1m-plus homes in Britain has slumped by 9pc since 2022 according to separate figures from Savills.
There are now just 673,000 £1m-plus properties, down 29,400 in the last year alone. In London’s priciest postcodes, which have been hit disproportionately by stamp duty rises and surcharges on second homebuyers, values have plunged by 26.3pc since their 2014 peak.
Many homeowners will still be paying a mortgage rather than owning the property outright, meaning their actual wealth is significantly less than the value of the property.
Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, said: “Whatever their personal finances, everyone should care about Britain having fewer millionaires to contribute to the tax pot and creating jobs and businesses here.
“It’s a competitive world, and when young and ambitious people are voting with their feet and leaving your country, that’s a shameful sign.”
 The ASI’s estimate of the number of millionaires in the UK is significantly lower than the figure tracked by the UBS Global Wealth Report, which puts the number of British millionaires at 2.6 million.
The think tank’s data measure property, pensions and financial assets after debts have been deducted, rather than simply the overall value of people’s assets, and is estimated from ONS national accounts information.
UBS’s figures measure US dollar millionaires, meaning that on current exchange rates someone with just £750,000 of assets would qualify.
The ASI has produced an annual estimate of the number of millionaires in Britain since 1998. At its peak in 2021, the think tank judged there were more than one million millionaires in the country.
The precise number of millionaires is difficult to measure because the UK does not maintain a comprehensive register of personal wealth.