Belgium counts 61,700 millionaires

10 June 2005

BRUSSELS – A total of 61,700 individuals in Belgium have a personal wealth of more than a million dollars.

On Friday, the daily ‘L’Echo’ reported that the number of rich residents in the country grew by 6.6 percent in 2004, compared to a European average of 4.1 percent.

The figures were revealed by the American investment bank Merrill Lynch and consultant Capgemini.

The pair surveyed countries throughout the world to find those with the largest number of rich residents. They considered the rich to be anyone who had wealth of more than a million dollars – around EUR 817,093 – on top of the value of their main home.

‘L’Echo’ concluded that the high number of rich residents in Belgium had contributed to the success of the country’s so-called ‘foreign tax dodge law’ – a tax amnesty which saw residents with assets stashed abroad return some EUR 500 million to Belgium in 2004.

Only Spain and the UK saw the number of millionaires increase in 2004 more than in Belgium – by 8.7 and 8.9 percent.

Subject: Belgian news