Three of Britain’s richest men – including a top investment banker – have become the latest to join an exodus of the super-rich amid a government crackdown on wealthy non-doms.
Ian and Richard Livingstone, brothers who own a £9bn property empire in the UK and abroad, an online casino and plush Monte Carlo hotel, were last night revealed as having quit the UK for Monaco, according to corporate documents.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs’ top banker, Richard Gnodde, worth over £130m, is understood to have ditched London for Milan.
Mr Gnodde is believed to be is the first senior banker leaving the UK for a different country, leading to fears the exodus of wealthy talent is spreading among the City’s higher echelons.
Leslie Macleod-Miller, chief executive of the non-dom lobby group, Foreign Investors for Britain, called for action to ‘stem the flow of highly desired – and highly mobile – individuals such as Gnodde’.
He told the City AM newspaper: ‘We are calling on the government to create an internationally competitive environment that attracts and retains top global talent and investment.’
Tycoon Ian Livingstone, who is leaving Britain for Monaco, pictured with his wife Natalie
Goldman Sachs’ group vice chairman and ex-CEO Richard Gnodde is swapping UK for Milan
In her budget last October, Rachel Reeves scrapped centuries-old tax privileges for non-doms – under which they were only taxed on income and gains brought into Britain.
Now all UK residents will be taxed in Britain on their worldwide income and gains.
The change in the brothers’ residence was revealed after South African-born Mr Gnodde, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs Group was confirmed to be leaving London for Milan.
The non-dom system dated back to 1799 and allowed people to avoid UK taxes on their overseas earnings for as long as 15 years.
But Chancellor Ms Reeves homed in on the super-wealthy as part of efforts to plug a ‘£22bn black hole’ in public finances.
Yesterday, a representative for Ian Livingstone, 62, and Richard, 60, declined to comment.
The pair, who made their money in property, have held major investments in the Riviera city-state for more than a decade.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has cracked down on non doms to fill ‘black hole’ in finances
The switch for the founders of London & Regional, whose property business is worth over £9bn, took effect between late March and early April – the time when Labour’s tax changes came into force.
Sources close to Mr Gnodde told CityAM the investment banking chief was moving to avoid changes ‘to the non-dom regime and foreign-held trusts’.
Mr Gnodde, 65, who retains his vice chairman role, now also serves on Goldman Sachs Bank Europe’s supervisory board. He is yet to change his residency with Companies House.
He first joined the bank’s London branch in 1987 when it was a small outpost but rose to become international co-chief executive in 2006, then sole CEO in 2016.
It made him one of the most powerful bankers in the Square Mile, responsible for the bank’s operations outside the US. But in January, he announced he was stepping down as CEO.
A Goldman Sachs spokesman said: ‘Given his new role, Richard will be primarily focused on growth opportunities across Europe. He will continue to spend time in the London office.’
The three men’s exit follows that of other UK billionaires.
These include Egypt’s Nassef Sawiris, co-owner of Aston Villa FC, leaving for Italy citing ‘10 years of incompetence’ by the previous Tory government, and Belgium’s Frederic de Mevius whose family own drinks firm AB-Inbev.
Last month, billionaire steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal – a major Labour donor under Tony Blair – announced he was quitting London after 30 years and planning to move the United Arab Emirates.
In January, global analytics firm New World Wealth and investment migration advisers Henley & Partners found over 10,000 millionaires left the UK in 2024, up 157 pc on the previous year.
Monaco, where Ineos and Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe moved in 2018, has no capital gains or income taxes and generous exemptions for inherited assets.
Italy has become a magnet for wealthy foreigners due to tax breaks on earnings for up to 15 years in exchange for an annual fee. The charge started at £100,000 and, although it has since doubled, it remains attractive.
US President Donald Trump spoke out this week against plans by Senators to raise federal taxes to 40% for people earning over $1m a year – saying a higher tax rate would probably send the richest citizens towards the exits.
The Livingstone brothers were sons of a dentist who grew up in London and established their property firm in the 1990s, snapping up run-down sites.
Their portfolio now extends to cinemas, offices in Madrid, the luxurious, £550-a-night Fairmont Monte Carlo hotel, plus a stake in Evolution AB, one of the world’s biggest online casinos.
The brothers have a charitable foundation working with young people, British fashion ventures and London colleges.
Facing a backlash, Ms Reeves told the World Economic Forum in January that said she has been ‘listening to concerns’ and would expand allowances to help non-doms repatriate their funds to the UK.
