00:00In the upscale Porta Venezia neighborhood of Milan, Rich Ross is right at home.
00:07The former Hollywood executive bought this apartment with his partner in 2021, relocating from Los Angeles.
00:14Well, every friend of ours, there are two words, why Milan?
00:18Like, why Milan? And then when we're here, they say, why here?
00:22Ross is one of a number of wealthy foreign individuals now calling Milan home.
00:27Data from Henley & Partners estimated Italy added 3,600 millionaires last year, the third most in the world,
00:33while the UK, France and Germany all recorded net losses.
00:37Most of those going to Italy ended up in Milan, with many attracted by the country's flat tax regime,
00:43initially 100,000 euros, but since raised to 300,000.
00:47What brings you back to Italy?
00:48The food, obviously.
00:51Luigi Di Vecchi is one of Europe's top dealmakers.
00:54Educated in Rome, he had stints around the world at Goldman and Citi,
00:58and was hired by Evercourt to return to Italy to lead its expansion through Europe.
01:03I think there are many places that have tax havens,
01:06but I think there is no doubt that people have taken that into consideration,
01:11as so many people moved out of London, but also out of Paris.
01:15I have friends that have come from all over Europe and actually the US,
01:19because unfortunately this time people, for different reasons, decide to move.
01:24And Milan, Italy in general, has become a very attractive place.
01:29And do you think that it's a Milan pull factor,
01:32or is it that London and other European cities are driving people away?
01:35I think it's a combination of factors.
01:40Milan has clearly benefited from stability.
01:45Stability of the Italian government.
01:48The current prime minister has been, I think,
01:52the third longest serving prime minister after two Berlusconi governments.
01:58But also the mayor in Milan has been around for almost 10 years.
02:03So there is a stability, even though they come from two different parts of the political equation,
02:10that is very important for people to have wanted to spend time in Milan, invest in Milan.
02:16It's not just Evercourt.
02:18Many financial institutions have expanded their presence in Milan in recent years,
02:22a signal that perhaps the city is not just having a tax-inspired moment,
02:26but is seeing a more structural shift.
02:28We felt that we looked at the data over the last few years.
02:33There has been tremendous M&A activity here.
02:36Last year was the year of the financial services.
02:39And so this is probably only the beginning of a wave of deals that is what attracted us.
02:46With the influx of affluence comes a range of businesses to accommodate it.
02:51Gary Landsberg has been heavily involved in private clubs in London,
02:54but opened the wild in the former home of fashion executive Santo Versace.
02:59I think, you know, we went after Milan in 2022.
03:04We acquired the building.
03:06We started to see that there was certainly a shift towards Milan,
03:11even before the non-dom thing was really fully announced.
03:15London previously is, you know, is a wonderful international city,
03:19but what we're allowing now is cities like Milan to become wonderful international cities
03:25and in environments where, you know, the elegance and the chicness of the city
03:33has now been enhanced by, you know, an amazing expat community.
03:39And now Milan is hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics,
03:43with events taking place both there and in Cortina, about four hours away in the Alps.
03:48Christophe Duby is the IOC's director of the Olympic Games.
03:51They had the Games in 2006 in the Piedmont region and Torino.
03:58Why do you think they wanted the Games in these regions?
04:01Because it's a great business for all the good reasons.
04:04First, you get that fresh injection of private money into the Games organization itself,
04:10sponsorship, ticketing, media rights.
04:13This is super beneficial.
04:15Then you have all the connected investments to support the Games themselves.
04:20And here we're speaking about a 4.5 billion economic impact
04:25that has to generate as well quite some substantial fiscal revenues,
04:30which justifies, by the way, the cost for security, transportation and the others.
04:34So, all in all, the equation is a very balanced or, I'd say, a very positive one.
04:40Yet, Milan's rise has opened up problems.
04:43Housing prices have surged up about 38% in the high-end sector between 2020 and 2025,
04:49according to real estate firm Knight Frank.
04:52And demonstrations broke out in the city ahead of the Olympics,
04:55with many fearing the Games will exacerbate cost of living concerns,
04:58even as the IOC says it'll repurpose the athlete village as student housing.
05:03What could derail the momentum that we're seeing in Milan the fastest?
05:07I don't think that I see a change of direction in terms of foreigners coming in.
05:14But what I think is changing, and this is dangerous,
05:18is the attitude of the Milanese that has always been an attitude that has been very welcoming.
05:25Milanese have something very special compared to other places in Italy.
05:29They're very reserved.
05:31They're very...
05:32The beauty of Milan is hidden.
05:34So, most of the big palaces have gardens that you cannot see from the outside.
05:40And Milanese don't like to show off.
05:43So, some of the wealthiest families in this town are not people that you would...
05:50They drive a Fiat Cinquecento, not a Ferrari.
05:54And so, this influx of foreigners who are very wealthy...
05:57Flashy.
05:58...and sometimes flashy, could create some kind of backlash.
06:03A little bit like what I think London experienced when a lot of too many foreigners came and prices rose...
06:12...and some of the Londoners had to move out.
06:14I think that is starting to happen here.
06:16I really hope that the authenticity of Milan and of the Milanese will not be lost because of that.
06:23Oh, how do you keep that balance?
06:24You need to continue to want to attract Italians.
06:29And therefore, prices cannot necessarily start to reach for rents, the prices that we've seen elsewhere...
06:38...which is a little bit what is happening at a time when salaries have not kept up.
06:44Is there any sense of resentment that outsiders are coming in and getting the great properties?
06:50I don't know if there's resentment.
06:52And then there's, I would say there's, I don't know if it's a worriedness.
06:56I think it's a curiosity, but it's also a little, the unknown is always very, I guess, a little scary
07:06here.
07:07But it's also been a city that has a finance capital for Italy and for Europe.
07:13It's a city that has a fashion capital for the world.
07:15So, it's not like they don't, the residents here don't see people come in.
07:19It's now every business and people coming to live here and not just come for a weekend, go to a
07:26fashion show,
07:27or not come for a finance meeting and then go back to London.
07:31People come, stay and enjoy.
07:34And I think that's more of a curiosity than a concern.
07:37With both mayoral and general elections in Italy next year, voters will get a chance to have their say on
07:43the country's tax regime.
07:45If the flat tax regime were to be reversed, would people leave as fast as they've come?
07:51I think it depends on how much they like pasta.
07:55No, the reality is that I think there is no question that for many people, the tax issue for the
08:02very wealthy, it's a real issue.
08:04It's an issue for them, it's an issue for their families, it's an issue for their legacy.
08:08So, I don't think that we can look at that in isolation, but I think it would be a major
08:13factor.
08:14Having said that, I have plenty of friends that have come, as I said, over the last few years to
08:19Italy, to Milan.
08:20They love it, they love the standard of life, and so I think that quite a few would stay.
08:26Perhaps the true test of a city's growth isn't measured by the arrival of those that have already made it,
08:32but by those who are trying to make it.
08:34Milan might be a destination for the wealthy, but is it becoming a destination for those looking to get wealthy?
08:40I think it's a very good question. There is no doubt that I could not have been able to stay
08:47in Italy because I wanted to see the world.
08:50I'm often asked this question by my students and by colleagues, young colleagues, and I think the world has become
08:57more complicated.
08:58In those days, when I was young, the U.S. for this business was the place to be and to
09:05develop a career.
09:07I think there is no question that the U.S. remains the most interesting place, but some of the bricks
09:12have disappeared.
09:14I suppose the question is also, is Milan a place where you do a stint, or is it a place
09:19you can really build a career?
09:21Listen, there is one thing that is very important about Italy and Europe in general.
09:26Unfortunately, here we have a demographic issue.
09:30So if we have 60 million people today, they're going down to 40 million by the end of this century,
09:37which basically means, in theory, we have a big problem.
09:41In practice, whoever stays here not only will find jobs, but will have huge opportunities to blossom.
09:47As an American citizen taxed on worldwide income, the flat tax regime doesn't benefit Rich Ross in quite the same
09:53way it does many other high net worth individuals.
09:56It's like an Olympic event.
09:59It's definitely bringing people in, but I think the people come for the finance and then they live for the
10:06city.
10:07And I think that's kind of unique.
10:10They're not sure how much time they're going to be here.
10:12And then everyone talks about they want to spend more time here, not less time, less a tax haven and
10:17more a place to live.
10:20Not so much, I think, La Dolce Vita, just an easy life that's beautiful and fun and yummy.
10:26Old Milan is the arts, fashion and elegance.
10:29New Milan is finance, ambitious and cosmopolitan.
10:33The real draw might be finding a mix of both.
10:37It's balance.
10:37I think the Italians understand and have always felt that balance in life is more important than their money and
10:44more important than anything.
10:46And I think for people coming in, often for monetary reasons, to understand that kind of balance is the curiosity
10:53from the outside to the Italian way.
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