Shipping billionaire John Fredriksen warns ‘Britain has gone to hell’ — and is reportedly listing his 300-year-old $337M London manor. Here’s why the ultra-rich are fleeing the UK

In an interview with Norwegian publication E24, the 81-year-old billionaire confirmed that the reason for his departure was the country’s rising taxation on wealthy residents. “Britain has gone to hell, like Norway,” he said. “The entire Western world is on its way down.”

In an effort to escape this perceived national decline, Fredriksen confirmed he was relocating to the United Arab Emirates.

His departure is part of a growing exodus of millionaires and billionaires from the U.K. in recent months. Here’s why the ultra-rich are fleeing the country.

Shutting the billionaires’ playground

For decades, the U.K. in general, and London in particular, built up a reputation as a playground for the world’s ultra-wealthy. This was partly achieved by offering favorable tax structures that benefit this elite cohort.

A prime example of this is the non-domicile system. A so-called “non-dom” is someone who resides in the U.K., but claims their permanent home is elsewhere. It’s a tax status not tied to citizenship or residency — a person can live in the U.K for years and still be considered non-domiciled for tax purposes.

Non-doms pay U.K. tax only on U.K.-sourced income. Foreign income is tax-free unless brought into the U.K. For the wealthy, this can mean large, legal tax savings by keeping global earnings offshore and claiming a lower-tax country as their domicile.

This special treatment may have been part of the reason why billionaires like Fredriksen, who was born in Norway and is officially a citizen of Cyprus, lived in London.

However, there has been a bi-partisan push to close this loophole in recent years. Critics argue that the system creates a disincentive to repatriate money to the U.K. and invest it in the local economy.