Zoë Dahse
DRAWING comparisons to cities such as London and Paris, Madrid is entering a new era of interest for overseas billionaires.
It’s a development which is drawing criticisms from locals for fear of traditional culture disappearing.
Multimillionaires around the world are choosing Madrid as their new home, a report by The Times highlighted.
Spain’s capital has become an attractive city to billionaires mainly from Latin America but also the US, Russia, and Asia.
Salamanca, one of the richest neighbourhoods in the city, has seen an influx of wealthy foreigners, particularly Latin Americans, buy properties and set up their lives in the district.
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Salamanca’s Serrano Street is renowned for its luxury fashion stores. Multitudes of luxury restaurants, an increase in the number of five star hotels, apartments worth millions of euros, and exclusive nightclubs all make up Madrid´s new urban outlook for the super rich.
With this increase in wealth also come tensions as Madrid changes from a city of old-world historic grandeur to a modernity. Locals and long-time madrilenos are concerned that the city’s cultural and historical importance will be lost over time. For example, 19th-century residential blocks are being converted into luxury flats.
House prices, already a national issue, are a particularly exacerbated problem in the Spanish capital. Idealista, a property sales website, reported that in a year the average price per square metre in the capital had increased by 24.3%.
Concerns have been raised that traditional barrios are losing their personalities with the influx of wealth. New residents with a lot of money but little concern for integration or sustainable living also contribute to tensions.
Madrid offers many benefits to international expats that make it highly attractive: the cultural opportunities, weather, an excellent airport, smooth transport links, private business schools such as the IE School, and a welcoming atmosphere. Tax relief schemes such as the so-called Mbappe law and golden visa schemes that the Comunidad de Madrid offers make it all the more viable.
The exclusive area of La Moraleja, where Hollywood actor Richard Gere has recently moved to, offers a recluse from the bustle of the city centre, and many luxurious residential properties. According to the report, Runnymede College, based in La Moraleja and the first private British school in Spain, is among those welcoming an increasing number of pupils who are the children of American tech billionaires.
With all that the beautiful city of Madrid has to offer, it comes as no surprise that the super rich are deciding to make it their new base.
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