Milan becomes the new refuge for billionaires from Dubai
The northern Italian city tries to seduce large foreign investors with a very favorable tax policy
RomeThe war in the Middle East has driven an exodus of millionaires who had been residing in Dubai and other countries in the region, where they enjoyed significant tax advantages. Iran's attacks on its Gulf neighbors in response to the offensive by the United States and Israel have caused a sense of insecurity among expatriates never before experienced. And it is for this reason that, amid growing uncertainty, large fortunes are returning to Europe and choosing Italy as the base for their operations.
The city of Milan, in the north of the country, emerges in this context as one of the most coveted options for foreign investors. A trend that began even before the escalation of violence in the Middle East, but which the conflict is helping to consolidate. Italy's financial capital represents the perfect balance between business opportunities, an international environment, quality of life, and a very favorable tax policy.
This is confirmed by the latest report from Barnes, a prestigious real estate consulting firm with a presence in 22 countries. According to this study, the capital of the Lombardy region has risen to second place in the ranking of the most desired cities in the world by international buyers with the highest purchasing power, and has placed itself only behind Madrid. And it's not just Milan. Rome, Venice, Florence, and Lake Como are also among the thirty most attractive cities in the world for people willing to relocate to improve their quality of life and protect their assets.
Luca Pietro Ungaro, general director of Barnes Italy, assures that among the reasons that lead millionaire foreigners to choose Milan are, mainly, the quality of life, accessibility to international airports, security, or the current political stability... but also tax incentives. And it is on this last point that Milan plays in another league compared to metropolises like Paris, London, or New York thanks to what is known as the "Cristiano Ronaldo law".
The Cristiano Ronaldo law
Since 2017, foreigners who move their tax domicile to the transalpine country can benefit from a fixed annual tax on all their income outside of Italy, applicable for a maximum of fifteen years. The Portuguese footballer, who currently plays for a Saudi Arabian team, was one of the first well-known faces to benefit from this controversial measure after signing in 2018 for Juventus of Turin.
The regulation was approved by the government of then-progressive prime minister Matteo Renzi, not without controversy. The controversial law introduced a flat rate – then 100,000 euros – for foreigners who moved their tax residence to Italy. The objective was to attract international fortunes precisely at the time when Brexit predicted an exodus of millionaires established in the United Kingdom.
The regulation also sought to encourage the return to their homeland of Italians who had moved their residence to neighboring Switzerland or the Principality of Monaco – often fictitiously – to escape the Italian tax authorities. In this case, to avoid possible fraud, Italians must prove to have resided abroad for at least nine out of the ten previous years. In 2024, Giorgia Meloni's government doubled the rate to 200,000 euros without retroactive effect. And a year later, it increased it by 50% to 300,000 euros, as part of the measures to finance its budget plan for 2026.
According to data from the Court of Auditors, between 2020 and 2023, the measure generated 315 million euros in revenue for the State, and in that last year alone, around 1,500 people benefited from it.
Criticism from Europeans
Italy's attractive tax policy has become Milan's great advantage in challenging Dubai as the capital of millionaires, but it has also drawn criticism from other European countries, such as France, whose former Prime Minister, François Bayrou, accused Rome last year of engaging in "tax dumping".
The arrival of a new community of millionaires represents a great opportunity for the Italian luxury market. In 2024, the exclusive Via Monte Napoleone surpassed New York's Fifth Avenue as one of the most expensive shopping streets in the world and, in recent years, there has been a multiplication of openings of private clubs, exclusive hotels, restaurants, and international art galleries. But the exodus of millionaires from Dubai seeking refuge in the Lombardy capital is affecting the lives of Milanese residents, who now pay more to go out for dinner or buy an apartment.
Housing prices have increased by 38% in the last five years, exceeding an average of 5,000 euros per square meter, according to a study by real estate firm Knight Frank.
"Milan is attractive to those with high purchasing power who can afford to buy, and this inevitably influences the free market," argues Salvatore Monteduro, secretary of the UIL union in Lombardy, for whom the deterioration of the quality of life for Milanese residents is not a direct consequence of the arrival of foreign millionaires, but rather of the impact they generate on an already fragile system. An opinion also shared by Carmelo Benenti, from the CGIL union, who proposes a higher investment in social housing and public policies capable of balancing an increasingly polarized market.