Monaco’s millionaires make up nearly a third of country’s population

One in three people in Monaco is a millionaire. (iStock)

Travelers in Monaco will most likely run into a millionaire while walking in the streets of the tiny European country.

Nearly a third of the people who live in the independent city-state in the French Riviera are millionaires, the 2019 Knight Frank Wealth Report revealed. Monaco has a population of 38,300, of which 12,261 are millionaires.

The statistic isn’t that surprising for the second smallest and most densely populated country in the world. Monaco has attracted a slew of wealthy people because of its Mediterranean weather and lack of income tax. The country also hosts several events, including the Monaco Grand Prix and the Monaco Yacht Show, which draw an international crowd.

The city-state’s poverty is virtually nonexistent, according to the Borgen Project, a group focused on fighting global poverty. The country’s two major income sources are tourism and the super wealthy purchasing properties.

"The government reinvests tourism earnings and other capital gains back into the community to improve the quality of life and to entice the wealthy to continue traveling and buying properties," Borgen Project’s Karyn Adams wrote in a 2017 blog post. “Even though these improvements are meant to attract foreigners with money, the natives benefit from it as well, effectively creating a virtually nonexistent poverty line within their tiny, proud and sovereign nation.”

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People who are looking to purchase a summer vacation home would still need a hefty sum of money. Monaco is the world’s most expensive prime residential market, Mansion Global reported. A home costs about $5,000 per square foot, double the price of homes in Paris or London.