Number of Billionaires: 57 Total Wealth: $125 billion Known as a playground for the rich and famous, Switzerland ranks 8th in the World Billionaires Sweepstakes and 7th as the home of the ultra-rich with wealth of over $30 million. Swiss billionaires represent the top 1 percent of the 5,597 ultra-high net worth population and control more than 19 percent of Switzerland’s total wealth. group. On average, each of these billionaires is worth $2.2 billion. Despite the decline seen across Europe,
Photo: Ingolf Pompe | LOOK-Photography
Switzerland has long been a haven for the super-rich. The 300 richest residents have a combined wealth worth 850 billion Swiss francs, or just over $1 trillion, according to business magazine Vilanz. But on Sunday, voters will go to the polls to vote on the inheritance tax that infuriates them.
A proposal to tax all inheritances and gifts over CHF 50 million at 50% is likely to fail. A recent opinion poll showed support at just 30%.
But people close to the discussions told CNBC that the initiative has rattled wealthy individuals and family-run businesses since it was first proposed in 2024. Swiss billionaire Peter Spuhler, founder and owner of the Stadler Railway, has threatened to leave the country if the tax becomes law. He told Swiss daily Tagesandzeiger that he would struggle to pay such taxes because his family’s wealth is tied up in companies.
“Many people who would be affected have consulted with consultants and tax lawyers and completed paperwork to ensure that they are prepared to leave if necessary, a week before the final vote,” Stephan Regge of the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland told CNBC on Friday.
“The super-rich are like queens on a chessboard.”
“When you target the ultra-wealthy, they’re like the queens of the chessboard,” said Legge, who conducted research on the potential impact of the tax.
“They are very agile. They have a lot of options to optimize their taxes,” he added.
Kurt Meussmann, president of the Swiss Single Family Office Association, told CNBC that the proposal “creates a certain amount of uncertainty among family offices and drives foreign capital holders away from Switzerland.”
Legge said a 50% tax would likely lead to a reduction in tax revenue. He said around 2,000 people would be affected, or 0.3% of Switzerland’s population, and currently pay between 5 billion and 6 billion Swiss francs a year.
Economy Switzerland, Switzerland’s leading business association, criticized the inheritance tax as an “unnecessary and harmful debate”.
“We depend on healthy taxpayers for our state’s finances,” he warned.
Legge added that although Switzerland faces competition from wealthy countries in the Middle East and other European countries, Switzerland “remains very strong” in “finding the right balance between taxes and adequate public services.”
“If you look at the overall competitive landscape, Switzerland remains the number one destination for international private banking and wealth management. We have a very healthy and strong ecosystem,” Giorgio Pradelli, CEO of Swiss private bank EFG International, told CNBC on Tuesday when asked if wealthy clients were scared.
The proposal came from the youth wing of the country’s left-wing Social Democratic Party. If successful, the money raised from taxes would fund policies to combat climate change.
