[scirpaceus]

Born and raised in Monaco here. The article paints a very incomplete picture, told from the minority standpoint of mostly wealthy socialites and residents. There are also about 50K people commuting into Monaco daily from neighboring cities (Nice, Cannes, La Turbie, Beausoleil, etc.) who are just middle-class wage workers, and who form the bulk of Monaco's active population. In the daytime, Monaco is mostly alive from their presence, as they outnumber residents. At night, well, Monaco isn't very much alive at all.

Many if not most of the wealthy residents who can afford the insane real estate prices also own multiple properties worldwide (London, NYC, Lugano, Singapore, etc.), and shuttle between them all year round, so they aren't even there permanently. Monaco is only a fiscal residence for many of them.

Beyond the surface-level glitz, e.g. the Formula 1 and the fancy cars parked in front of the Casino, what's interesting is that the little old unassuming lady in sweatpants walking her dog in the morning may actually be a multi-billionaire, and you wouldn't be able to tell. Lot of old money that likes to keep to itself, as opposed to nouveaux riches who like to flaunt.

[ggm]

This is analogous to Singapore, with a huge army of workers resident in Malaysia crossing over every day, and most returning every night. Hong Kong is somewhat similar but less so: there is enough cheap housing for a significant proportion of the cheaper labour (below millionaire class) to live in the economies boundaries.

The article does make it clear that Monegasques have significant state support for housing but that's on the assumption they aren't millionaires. The mobile workforce from outside is presumably given one of two "perks" -lower taxation outcomes (although I suspect there is some bilateral tax treaty) for at least income tax, and higher pay than they'd get working in their domicile.

I'm trying to steer clear of approval or disapproval writing this. I can't imagine making either of the two choices: to be a tax exile living there but with no statehood, or to be a mobile worker working there but having to return to an EU economy every night. The third option, being Monegasque is not open to me any more than Maltese citizenship, which is also much sought, and hard to get although not as hard as this one.

A surprising number of british working class people have Maltese citizenship, similarly Gibraltarian: thats what the british Navy does for you. I wonder if in millionaires row their advice for non-dom includes "marry a maltese"

[teedeepee]

Most Monegasques are by and large not millionaires, but they are indeed taken care of by the welfare state very very well. However, they barely make up 25% of the residents, so they are overshadowed by the wealthier foreigners who set up residence in Monaco.

Re: the mobile workforce, there's a tax treaty between Monaco and France (which was imposed by the latter after a total blockade of the former in the 1960s) by which French citizens working in Monaco still have to pay income tax in France, even if they are Monaco residents. It's the only case of "global taxation" of French expatriates in the world. There are, therefore, no incentives for them to live in Monaco. People who set up fiscal residence in Monaco to avoid taxes are, therefore, not French.

[dmurray]

> The third option, being Monegasque is not open to me any more than Maltese citizenship, which is also much sought, and hard to get although not as hard as this one.

Doesn't Malta have a "golden passport" programme of citizenship through investment, where you can get a passport by investing less than $1,000,000 and moving to Malta for three years, virtually no questions asked? [0]

This contrasts strongly with Monaco where even the billionaire residents find it extremely tough to get citizenship.

[0] https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/eu-golden-visas/malta-golde...

[dendriti]

Malaysians commuting across the bridge make up about 10% of Singapore's workforce - huge, to be sure, but nowhere near the ratio seen in Monaco.

[mytailorisrich]

>or to be a mobile worker working there but having to return to an EU economy every night.

Monaco is so small and so similar to neighbouring France so it does not make much difference versus having to commute to another neighbouring town. It just so happens that this neighbouring town is also another country.

[SergeAx]

I visited Monaco several times on a sailboat (I believe it is the cheapest way to spend a night there). The town is very small and well connected by public transportation, so "having to return to an EU every night" is about the same as working on Manhattan while live in Brooklin, Bronx or Jersey.

[eastbound]

I’ve always wondered: How do billionaires ensure their security?

Does this old lady have no security detail at all? Are they as prone as us to street-mugging?

Do people like usual unicorn CEOs, I know some who have street-facing houses or houses without a big fence (they don’t live in gated communities), have armed guys to protect against intruders? Do they walk their dog at night? let their kids walk to school in the morning? Do they have security detail for all this, or are they just like us, crossing their fingers that crime be low? Being CEOs with large interests at stake, they surely receive targeted blackmailing in large quantity, don’t they? Even as billionaires, do they simply take the first Uber from their airport to a downtown hotel? Do they simply assume airport-uber-hotel facilities are naturally safe, even considering how much interest they concentrate on their person?

[sho]

I think it depends on the country and the viability of any sort of attack on the person as an enterprise likely to produce profit.

In countries known for their lawlessness, perhaps Brazil for example, or Papua New Guinea, HNW people do indeed have security details and live in pretty fortified areas (whole districts, typically, not just houses). A visiting CEO or whoever, depending on how well-known they are and how publicly knowable their visit is likely to be, might well organise such protection when they visit. Countries like this, all countries actually, have companies specialising in exactly that.

But I think in countries where there is a credible claim to rule of law, attacks on the actual person are pretty rare. Kidnapping as a general crime is all but extinct in most of the developed world, and you'd have to kidnap someone to make any actual money - it's not like they have a billion dollars in cash on their person. You'd have to kidnap for ransom (or I suppose crypto keys these days?) which is just extraordinarily risky and unlikely to succeed in the modern, developed world.

As to the "uber from the airport" question, anyone above a certain net worth has at least one assistant who organises their calendar and travel (and their whole lives, actually) and they will have arranged transport to/from airports in advance.

[teedeepee]

Monaco is incredibly safe - undercover and uniformed police everywhere, ubiquitous video surveillance, few ingress/egress points, thorough filtering of cars coming in and out based on condition and license plate, etc. It’s a small territory and thus easy to monitor.

[blitzar]

Its incredibly easy, with the resources afforded by being a billionaire, to appear as a mere millionaire.

[crimsoneer]

Monaco has the highest number of police per head in the world (I think). It's also not a democracy, and can deal people quite harshly.

[Broken_Hippo]

* Are they as prone as us to street-mugging?*

This isn't a problem in a lot of areas. Believe it or not, some places are fairly safe. If you live in a safer area, why would you bother paying for security, especially if no one realizes that you might be worth getting mugged?

[gadders]

I think it depends on the level of fame. Zuckerberg/Gates/Buffet/Musk all have bodyguards. Pretty sure I could walk past EG the Coinbase or AirBnB founders and not recognise them.

[nathanvanfleet]

Rich people love to distinguish between old and new rich. Am I supposed to somehow be impressed by this? Old rich just use their money for pleasure and status like new rich do, they just have different more obtuse ways to do it.

[vineyardmike]

I think there are implications or reasons i see this… (this is not an endorsement)

1. “New rich” is flashy and gaudy and that’s not perceived as a positive. Flaunting wealth is seen as trying to show off for the admiration/approval/jealousy of the less rich. Being old rich is to be above it, and so comfortable with money you don’t need to show it off.

2. “Old Rich” is a separate world, it’s like royalty, no amount of success today makes you old rich yesterday. Since having the right connections is an important factor in success, it’s another way to close doors for everyone but your kids.

3. I think there’s a certain “aesthetic” that old-money is associated with (enjoyed by the not rich). A quasi-royal preppy guilded sort of image, and people seem to like that.

[andsoitis]

Being able to steer wealth over multiple generations vs squandering it is seen as positive and not an obviously easy thing to do.

When you’re newly rich, this ability is yet unproven…

[hahaxdxd123]

Middle class people putting old money on a pedestal and denigrating new money is so laughable to me.

The folks that do nothing but own land and raise your rent every year are oh so classy, and the folks that actually work invent things that improve your life like idk wifi are oh so gauche.

[qwertox]

I once read somewhere that the issue is that to the old rich money isn't a topic. It's something that exists and has existed for a long time, that gets used when needed, but doesn't get talked about.

New rich on the other hand feel the need to display the fact that "they've made it", talking about money is important to them.

So there's a certain incompatibility between old and new rich, where old rich feel bothered by the talk about money.

[A4ET8a8uTh0]

I personally think of it as a pure human need to somehow feel superior to their peers. Sure, they have the same amount of money, but are how did they get them and can we make their status lower ( and at the same time ours higher ) by pointing to that. The in-group/out-group dynamic is at play for everyone including apparently people, who have a lot of money. If I was a more charitable person, I would say that is a good thing. It means they are still connected to the human race.

Note. By rich here I am talking upwards of 100MM although it would appear B would soon be replacing M as the place to be money-wise in terms of wealth recognition.

[spaceman_2020]

I think the implication is that “old money” has aristocratic roots and thus, “noble blood”. Just plain old chauvinism and bigotry, but now applied to billionaires too.

[ulfw]

New rich = often earned their money (legitimately or not) Old rich = done nothing but inherit. Getting born is their only achievement.

[TotoHorner]

They’re incredibly smug about it too, as if getting born with a silver spoon in your mouth is somehow far more commendable?

[subsubzero]

I went to Monaco on my honeymoon(one of a few places I visited). A few things the article does not mention are that the local residents cannot gamble at the cities casino. I believe that the casino is one of the largest sources of revenue for the city state. The aquarium and palace are very nice and the palace in particular has alot of history and continuing tradition. Was shocked at the number of luxury cars that were in our parking garage(we drove in), like at least 20-30 Ferraris, Rolls Royce and Bentleys in the garage we parked at. Having grown up in the sf bay area which is very wealthy, the level of wealth here was amazing even to me. I know the country is desperately trying to add more land, this means building out into the sea and building up(high rises). The city state is on a somewhat hilly area which further restricts available building areas. Overall it was a great trip and the people were all friendly and it seemed very safe, lastly I really enjoyed the beer Brasserie de Monaco pilsner(locally brewed).

[TMWNN]

>the local residents cannot gamble at the cities casino.

Sounds like Las Vegas. I don't mean to say that Vegas residents are prohibited from gambling; they aren't. There certainly are gamblers among them, both natives[1] and those who moved specifically there to gamble. But to the vast majority of Las Vegas residents the casinos are a) employers and b) a place to take out-of-town guests to for an inexpensive meal.

[1] By which I mean "regular people". Newcomers greatly outnumber those actually native to the city.

[MuffinFlavored]

> the little old unassuming lady in sweatpants walking her dog in the morning may actually be a multi-billionaire, and you wouldn't be able to tell.

why doesn't she hire a dog walker then?

/s

[TaylorGood]

UHNW doesn't inherently mean rescinding fulfillment :)

[polotics]

Because her doctors at the Parc Impérial told her to do this much walking and are plugged-in to her watch, of course.

[stuaxo]

Does Monaco have any schools, or is it just rich adults ?

[animal_spirits]

My coworker grew up in Monaco, said schools were closed for the F1 race because they couldn't hear anything in the schoolrooms.

[the_only_law]

I mean rich adults have kids I guess.

[julosflb]

yes they do have schools, even high schools.

[dolmen]

RTFA

[GuB-42]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I heard that for Monaco nationals, housing is heavily subsidized. Otherwise they simply wouldn't be able to live in their own country!

I personally know a Monaco national. Typical middle-class lifestyle, maybe he secretly has a fortune be he doesn't look like it. Interestingly, despite living effectively in France, he is not French, he is not even a EU citizen, it means that when he went to study in France, he had to do more paperwork than someone from, say, Germany.

And BTW, while I didn't live in Monaco, I went there a few times (2h drive from where I live) and it definitely feels the way you describe it.

[throwaway1777]

London, NYC, Lugano, Singapore. Wait… Lugano? I mean I know it’s a nice city in Switzerland but?

[brailsafe]

They could have added Jackson Hole, Wyoming to the list and it would seem equally strange. Kind of a small town with billionaires that you don't really know about unless you've either been there or read specifically about it.

In Canada I'm not aware of any rich people small towns (unless you consider Vancouver, West Vancouver, or Toronto, or the Shaunhessy neighbourhood of Vancouver), but there is the Muskoka area of Ontario where Kevin O'Leary's wife recently smashed her boat into and killed someone

[vidarh]

Lugano is a common target for tax exiles who wants something low profile, so it's full of rich people from all over Europe.

[tsunamifury]

Substitute lake como but Swiss side.

[trosi]

Best weather you can find in Switzerland