Switzerland has long been a magnet for foreigners looking for a better life – including a growing number of wealthy ‘immigrants.’
In 2025, approximately 3,000 multi-millionaires settled in the country, according to the ‘Country Wealth Flows’ report from the consulting firm Henley & Partners.
This corresponds to an average of 250 individuals per month.
These super-wealthy people have brought about 16.8 bliion dollars (13.4 billion francs) in assets with them to further enrich Switzerland’s coffers.
‘More pleasant than New York’
With millions at their disposal, these billionaires could live extremely well almost anywhere in the world.
So why are they choosing Switzerland?
The latest such arrival, Italian billionaire Lapo Elkann, 48, said the reason for this continued influx of wealth is that “We are living in complicated times, marked by uncertainty. Switzerland embodies security, quality of life, and is located at the heart of Europe.”
“And it is much more pleasant than New York,” he added.
Elkann is not the only high-worth ‘immigrant’ who had settled in Switzerland.
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In fact, billionaires in the number one and two spots in Switzerland are both foreigners.
German national, 86-year-old Klaus-Michael Kühne, is the majority shareholder of the Schwyz-based transport logistics giant Kuehne + Nagel. His wealth is estimated at 41 billion francs.
Next is Italian national Gianluigi Aponte, 83, the founder, owner and chairman of Mediterranean Shipping Company. He and his wife, Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, 78, are worth 30 billion francs.
But many more foreign billionaires are also calling Switzerland ‘home’:
READ MORE: How many foreigners are in Switzerland’s top 1 percent of earners?
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‘Sveits-bølg’
And then there are wealthy Norwegians (and Scandinavians in general), a number of whom have settled n Switzerland, earning a nickname of ‘Sveits-bølg’ (‘Swiss Wave’).
Why is that?
To say that Switzerland’s tax rate is lower than Norway’s is an understatement.
The federal tax rate here amounts to 11.5 percent, with a maximum combined cantonal and municipal rate of approximately 36 percent.
In Norway, on the other hand, the income tax rate is 22 percent, with rates for highest earners exceeding 50 percent.
Dozens of rich Norwegians have therefore moved to Switzerland in recent years, including billionaires Kjell Inge Rökke, Caroline Hagen Kjos, Svein Stöle, and Jörgen Dahl, among others.
This may not seem like a huge number (and hardly a wave), but it is a big increase when compared to only two Norwegians who settled in Switzerland in 2020.
READ MORE: Why do rich Norwegians flee to Switzerland?
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Why are these rich foreigners allowed to settle in Switzerland?
‘Rich’ is the key word here.
Foreigners (even those from the European Union or EFTA (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) are permitted to settle in Switzerland without a gainful employment only if they are very wealthy – with enough money to live here without asking for social assistance (which above-mentioned individuals clearly are).
For such cases, Article 30 of the Federal Aliens Act sets out exemptions from the regular, strict admission requirements – but only if candidates are sufficiently wealthy.
The law states that in cases of “important public interests” – that is, plenty of money in tax revenue – cantons can grant foreign citizens permissions to settle on their territories with a B residence permit.
These are the so-called “golden visas”, a term used to describe residency based on investment in local economy.
READ MORE: How many wealthy foreigners get one of Switzerland’s golden visas?
