It’s 25 years since Nigel Lawson’s budget made London one of the most appealing places in the world to be rich. In the last year, the number of foreigners entering the country on Tier 1 visas — only available to those who have more than £1 million to invest in the UK — jumped by 78 per cent. One of the perks of this visa is that you’re eligible for fast-track residency status, with those who invest £10 million qualifying for indefinite leave to remain after just two years. Best of all, a significant percentage of your ‘investment’ can be in the London housing market. Which might explain why more than 60 per cent of all sales above £2 million in the capital are currently going to overseas buyers. Britain has long held many attractions for wealthy immigrants. Its laws are respected, its political system is stable and its officials are honest, making it a safe haven for those with large fortunes to protect. But London has become even more attractive thanks to its ever-improving international transport links. One of the unforeseen consequences of the Channel Tunnel is that London is now the world’s sixth-largest French city — and this population is growing all the time thanks to François Hollande’s 75 per cent super tax. French nationals now comprise 4 per cent of the population of Kensington and Chelsea, the UK’s wealthiest borough. It even has its own lycée. It was considerate of France’s well-heeled immigrants to bring their own school. One of the loudest complaints of London’s dwindling population of rich Britons is that they can no longer afford to educate their children at their alma maters. At St Paul’s School, for instance, the fees have risen at twice the rate of inflation in the past ten years, and even those British children whose parents can afford the fees find it hard to compete with the over-achieving offspring of Chinese billionaires. At Westminster, the school’s brightest pupils do A-levels in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Further Maths — a combination known as ‘the Asian five’. But before we turn to Nigel Farage, it’s worth reflecting on the astonishing achievements, whether in finance or culture, of those who have chosen to make London their home. It’s not just about making it an exciting place to be or to visit; the London property market bucked the national trend last year, with average house prices increasing by 13 per cent. That wouldn’t have happened without all that foreign capital sloshing around. Indeed, London’s economy wouldn’t be nearly so buoyant if it weren’t for the non-doms. And don’t forget the restaurants. British food used to have the reputation of being the worst in the world. Today, London has better restaurants than Paris, New York and Tokyo combined. OK, we natives cannot afford to eat in them. But still. It’s nice to know they’re there.
MON EY WA L K S How London became the home from home of the international rich Toby Young
I can’t say I’m surprised that Ukip has started to attract support from rich aristocrats in the City of London, with several of them writing large cheques to the party at a fund-raiser last month. They are feeling swamped by the sheer scale of immigration to our capital. In their case, though, it’s not benefit tourists that are the problem. Rather, it’s the arrival of the world’s super-rich, pricing them out of London’s most desirable neighbou rhoods and maki ng it harder and harder to get their not very bright little darlings into good schools. 40
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Illustration: Brett Ryder
LIFE