A new study has been carried out by Canada regarding job creation and destruction among private incorporated companies in Canada by immigrant entrepreneurs and canadian born owners, from 2003-to-2013 period.
According to the study, there were 8.6 million weighted firm-year observations over the 11 years studied. Therefore, the annual average net number of jobs (ALUs) created per firm was 0.18 (1.6 million divided by 8.6 million). There were 7.2 million observations involving firms with Canadian-born owners, so the annual average net number of jobs created per firm was 0.16. Among immigrant-owned firms, roughly 0.4 million net jobs were created. There were 1.4 million observations involving immigrant-owned firms, so the annual average net number of jobs created per firm was 0.28 among immigrant-owned firms.
Absolute number of jobs created, by firm ownership status, pooled data from 2003 to 2013 — Gross job creation for entrants – Source: Statistics Canada, ALU: average labour unit.
Therefore, 25% of the net new jobs created by private incorporated companies were attributable to immigrant-owned firms, although they accounted for only 17% of the private incorporated firms studied. Three-quarters of the net jobs created were attributable to firms with Canadian-born
Number of firm-year observations (weighted) from 2003 to 2013
Immigrant-owned firms also tended to be smaller than firms with Canadian-born owners. Eighty-one percent of immigrant-owned firms had fewer than five employees, compared with 69% of firms with Canadian-born owners.
Germany takes first spot for best citizenship in the world in Best citizenships rankings.
The Best Citizenships Index (BCI) released today for 2019 takes into consideration 18 metrics for evaluating a citizenship. BCI index tells which country has the best citizenship in the world. One key difference with this index, it ranks citizenship not passports.
Germany scored 112 points out of 145 points taking the first place, followed by Ireland in second place and Iceland in third place.
European countries dominate top 3 spots in citizenship rankings. US with 20 trillion economy takes six spot.
The BCI index uses the following metrics for citizenship rankings.
With the new amendments to Cyprus investment citizenship scheme coming to effect on May 15, the applications has increased almost reaching annual cap of 700 limit.
Insiders hint of an unofficial extension to the May 15 set date for the implementation of the new measures. And that this will concern only those investors who have sales documents in their hands but have failed to submit the required documents beforehand, reported today by Cyprus Mail.
If an investor simply submits the sale document before May 15 and the remaining documents a bit later, then his/her application will be reviewed in accordance with rules and regulations applied before that date.
As far as processing time is concerned, it takes almost six months for approval and passport. All applications that may be submitted over the next few days will be finally approved or declined by the end of the year or even early in 2020.
From May 15 onwards, all citizenship applications submitted under investment scheme are required to
Hold schengen visa
Pay additional EUR 150K contribution amount and
Stricter enhanced checks on applicants.
The Government also issued a tender for selection of due diligence providers ending on May 21, selected DD firms will be announced after that date. The Cypriot parliament recently allotted €1.4 million euros annual budget for three years for due diligence checks for CIP applicants under the citizenship investment scheme.
Currently there are over 500 authorized firms in Cyprus approved by Government promoting the Cypriot citizenship by investment program
According to CYSTAT, the number of building permits authorised by the municipal authorities and the district administration offices during January 2019 increased by 8.2% stood at 544. The total value of these permits reached €117,8 million and the total area 107,0 thousand square metres.
According to a study conducted by Finance ministry last year, the Citizenship scheme has added € 3.7 billion into real estate and € 1 billion into businesses creating over 2200 jobs
Norway to legalize dual citizenship effective from 2020. On 6 December 2018, the Norwegian parliament decided dual citizenship will be allowed in addition to a Norwegian citizenship.
The Norwegian government has officially announced that the new dual citizenship rules will most likely be introduced on 1 January 2020.
The rules will change both for those who already are Norwegian citizens, and for those who are applying for Norwegian citizenship.
The old rules apply before the new rules comes into effect.
Eastern Europe is now home to some of the most dynamic and fastest-growing markets in the world, with the Republic of Moldova being a prime example of a nation with enormous potential. Located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East, Moldova has a thriving start-up scene and is proving to be a hub for some of the world’s most exciting technological innovations.
The small and formerly underdeveloped Eastern European nation is becoming increasingly attractive to dynamic investors. In addition to being one of the world’s main wine exporters, with a burgeoning wine tourism industry, Moldova has an established food manufacturing sector and a budding automotive industry. Long caught between Russia and the European Union, the country is now looking eastward to new partnerships and networks of co-operation, recently joining hands with China on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Moldova’s geographic position makes it one of the final key stages in China’s grand infrastructural project. The two nations’ mutual resolve to expand bilateral trade and investment and strengthen cultural exchanges looks set not only to facilitate significant growth, but to make Moldova a particularly exciting market for Southeast Asian investors.
As both the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road Route pass through Southeast Asia, it is anticipated that the impact of the multi-trillion-dollar belt road initiative BRI will also be felt in developing Southeast Asian countries, opening up opportunities to gain a foothold in Europe. Moldova already has double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAAs) in place with approximately 49 countries, including China and Japan in Asia, and it plans to expand that list to include more Southeast Asian countries.
The latest example of Moldova’s ambitious and future-focused development strategy is the country’s newly introduced citizenship-by-investment program, which is set to play a driving role in securing foreign direct investment and encouraging entrepreneurship.
Left to Right: Chloe Cho, HE Vitale Ircu – State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure of the Republic of Moldova, Iulia Petuhov – Head of the Citizenship by Investment Program of the Republic of Moldova, Dominic Volek – Managing Partner and Head of Southeast Asia, Henley & Partners
During a panel discussion moderated by media personality Chloe Cho, which coincided with the Southeast Asia launch of the Moldova Citizenship-by-Investment (MCBI) program in Singapore recently, H.E. Vitalie Iurcu, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure of the Republic of Moldova, said: “Our country has come a long way over the past few years, and many of our most important industries are now thriving. Moldova is committed to active participation in BRI, and we look forward to strengthening cultural and trade ties between our countries.
“In order to take further steps forward in our economic development and support the social wellbeing of all Moldovans, we need to welcome a variety of new ways of generating capital. Along with our participation in BRI, the MCBI program is part of this future-focused approach.”
Dominic Volek, Managing Partner and Head of Southeast Asia, Henley & Partners, said that citizenship-by-investment programs offer invaluable benefits to both host nations and investors: “For host nations, investment migration’s true value lies in its extraordinary social and economic impact, which is felt at all levels of society. Around the world, from Malta and Cyprus in the Mediterranean to the islands in the Caribbean, sovereign states are realising that investment migration injects new liquidity into an economy, creates sustainable income streams that can support public financial needs, attracts foreign direct investment, and expands opportunity for all citizens.”
The panel discussion also featured Iulia Petuhov, Head of the Citizenship by Investment Program of the Republic of Moldova, who commented on what makes the program so attractive to investors: “The MCBI offers a highly competitive pricing structure, with minimum investment as low as EUR 100,000, and applications for family members would cost only an additional EUR 15,000 per person.”
She stressed that after a stringent vetting and due diligence process, successful applicants are granted full citizenship rights that are transferrable without restrictions to future generations. “Moldova also issues its citizens with biometric passports and has a very straightforward and well-thought out application process, in keeping with the highest industry standards. The Moldova passport offers holders visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 121 destinations including the European Schengen zone,” Petuhov added.
Aside from the MCBI launch in Singapore, Henley & Partners also held a series of Global Citizenship Seminars which took place in Bangkok, Manila, and Ho Chi Minh City the same week. The seminars provided an overview of global mobility trends as well as an update on the world’s leading investment migration programs that are available.
The Italia Startup Visa (ISV) programme was launched by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development on 24 June 2014. ISV’s mission is to facilitate the issue of self-employment visas to non-EU citizens who wish to establish, individually or as a team, an innovative startup company in Italy, as defined by the Italian Startup Act.
ISV introduces an entirely new procedure, :
Fast-track: it never takes more than 30 days;
Centralised: the applicant can communicate with the Italian public offices through a single contact point;
Digitised: the procedure takes place entirely online;
Bilingual: applications can be submitted both in Italian and in English;
Free-of-charge: no fees are required to apply.
Italy also offers investor visa to foreigners investing EUR 500,000 in innovative startup companies or over EUR 1 million in enterprise projects.
The Ministry of Economic development has published new report on italian startups for 2019
As 31 March 2019, Italy has received 434 startup visa applications. Of these, 230 (53%) have received a positive evaluation from the Italia Startup Visa Technical Committee, resulting in a Certificate of No Impediment (in Italian, “Nulla Osta”) to the visa.
Among the others, 165 applications (38%) were unsuccessful and 32 were withdrawn.
7 applications are still under evaluation: three require further documentation to be examined, while the remaining four are currently being assessed by the ISV Committee.
Popular places for Startups
Milan, Rome and Treviso are the top 3 locations for startups.
Source: Ministry of Economic Development
Top countries applying for ISV
Russians and Chinese applying for italian startups with great interest.
The Vanuatu CBI program off to a flying start in 2019, with VT 1.1 billion ($9.5m) revenues collected from the citizenship by investment program (VCP/VDSP) for Jan 2019, according to the DoFT report.
The number of passports issued each month more than doubled from September to October last year. Based on official revenue figures and current passport prices, the Daily Post estimates that over 1,800 passports were issued to people via Vanuatu’s various citizenship by investment programmes in 2018.
The government of Vanuatu has well over VT 6 billion ($59m) in cash reserves. Its operating surplus in 2018 was in excess of VT 8 billion ($69m), reported Dailypost.vu.
Vanuatu currently requires $160,000 one time contribution for citizenship under the DSP/VCP program.
New CBI Citizens
On average, five new citizens were added every day last year. In the six months between July and January, that number rises to seven.
On Average, seven people are becoming economic citizens through the CBI program in Vanuatu since mid 2018
CBI Passports
October 2018 saw the great level of activity, with an average of nine new passports awarded every day, or twelve every working day.
Majority of clients applying for Vanuatu CBI program are from China.
CBI Revenues
Vanuatu CIP revenues from July 2018 – Jan 2019 – Source: Dailypost.vu
EU has published schengen visa report for 2018. According to the report, an estimated 14.2 million uniform schengen visas, including multiple entry visas. In addition to visas issued at consulates, Schengen States also issued 66 000 uniform visas at the external borders.
Here is the quick summary.
France issued most schengen visas than any other schengen country (3.3 million visas), followed by Germany and Italy
EU schengen states received 16 million visa applications for 2018
Russians and chinese top the table for receiving schengen visas.
Chinese applying for schengen visas increased by 11.3% compared to previous year to 2.8 million applications
Despite Russia top country for schengen visas, number of applications in the Russian Federation, decreased almost 5% to 3.7 million
Applications lodged in India surpassed the 1-million-mark for the first time, registering an increase of 17.4%
Malta, Belgium, Portugal have high refusal rates for uniform visas above 15%.
Worldwide, 9.6% of all visa applications were refused.
Schengen visa applications lodged in Belarus declined by 4.8%, Turkey by 9.5%) and Algeria by 8.8%)
Visa applications plunged from Ukraine by 73% due to new visa waiver for ukraine nationals.
Top countries
France – 3.3 million
Germany – 1.8 million
Italy – 1.7 million
Spain – 1.5 million
Greece – 805K
Schengen visas issued in 2018
Top countries receiving schengen visas
Russia – 3.6 million
China – 2.8 million
India – 0.9 million
Top countries applying for Schengen visa
Schengen State
Sum – Uniform visas applied
Sum – Total uniform visas issued (including MEV)
Sum – Multiple entry uniform visas (MEVs) issued
LTVs issued (Local territory visas)
Sum – Uniform visas not issued
Refusal %
France
4010604
3345400
1030034
3311
629997
15.71%
Germany
2056296
1838775
1555031
30822
186699
9.08%
Italy
1844140
1703912
1234338
4346
135882
7.37%
Spain
1701379
1502696
659280
5871
157494
9.26%
Greece
855285
805115
595272
8157
42013
4.91%
Finland
769049
751358
670112
3052
13439
1.75%
Netherlands
682382
582344
459448
5441
86123
12.62%
Czech Republic
662902
630071
173259
1510
31206
4.71%
Switzerland
556520
487014
293960
28276
41230
7.41%
Poland
518003
501011
378243
1548
15423
2.98%
Lithuania
353059
346476
294862
150
4701
1.33%
Austria
306133
280847
154902
6188
19098
6.24%
Portugal
266516
221009
110999
1328
44179
16.58%
Sweden
253292
207643
57817
8591
29604
11.69%
Hungary
228793
210827
109647
204
17762
7.76%
Belgium
219827
173598
86522
913
36906
16.79%
Norway
164591
146526
32085
2560
15633
9.50%
Denmark
164003
149744
72905
154
11472
6.99%
Latvia
161709
157628
124273
83
3374
2.09%
Estonia
127561
125465
112768
48
2048
1.61%
Malta
32331
24931
7611
192
6611
20.45%
Slovakia
26797
25230
16610
450
1118
4.17%
Slovenia
26403
20171
18385
3600
2632
9.97%
Luxembourg
10876
10467
8265
8
401
3.69%
Iceland
9334
8856
2610
156
1.67%
Refusal Rate
Malta, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands have high refusal rates
The percentage of applications that were refused varied widely and ranged from less than 2% (Belarus, Indonesia and Russia) to more than 35% (Algeria, Central African Republic, Comoros, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Iraq, Nigeria and Senegal).
Worldwide, 9.6% of all visa applications were refused, 1.4 percentage points more than in 2017. 58% of visas issued in 2018 allowed for multiple entries into the Schengen area, a similar figure as 2017.
The World Citizenship Forum 2019 in partnership with World Citizenship Council (WCC) will be one of a kind event gathering of citizenship experts from around the world.
Stay tuned for our first World Citizenship Forum (WCF) event in late 2019, bringing together experts in the Citizenship and Residence by Investment (CRBI) industry.
The first event will bring together industry experts, governments, due diligence firms, and non-profit organizations and general public from the Citizenship by Investment and Golden visa industry.
This will be our first startup small event with limited seats.
Attendance for general public will be FREE
Event Venue: Dubai, UAE
Limited seats available
* Members of World Citizenship Council (WCC) can also attend free of charge
Stay tuned for updates!
For event related inquiries and sponsorships, please contact us through events @ worldcitizenshipforum (dot) com
Today we measure wealth in millions and billions. These are just finite and limited wealth. But there were even richer people who lived in the face of the earth, with incomprehensible wealth in trillions.
Today in modern times, no such trillionaires exist. A trillionaire adds twelve zeroes after a number, and is thousand times richer than a billionaire.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder’s wealth $159b, while other royal families wealth is only a fraction compared to these people who lived in ancient times. Rockefeller and Carnegie amassed close to $350 billion, not even half of trillion. The net worth of Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, is approximately only $3.1 billion according to Forbes as of 5 March 2019
Wealth is declining among the rich, in today’s world, and it would take another century to produce the first trillionaire of the modern times. It would take another thousand years to produce a Quadrillionaire. We certainly wont see in our lifetime.
Let us take a look at the people who held unprecedented wealth in trillions.
1. Mansa Musa
1280-1337
King of the Mali empire and Timbuktu
Total wealth: immeasurable
Musa depicted holding a gold coin from the 1375 Catalan Atlas. The Catalan Atlas is the most important map of the medieval period in the Catalan language.
Mansa Musa was the emperor and sultan of Malian Empire consisted of territory formerly belonging to the Ghana Empire in present-day southern Mauritania and in Mali and the immediate surrounding areas. During his reign, gold was in substantial demand and Mali may have been the largest producer of gold in the world bringing him immeasurable wealth.
Musa was a devoted muslim and he would build new mosque every friday
Musa embarked on a pilgrimage to Meccah between 1324 and 1325, taking with him 60,000 men, all wearing brocade and Persian silk, 12,000 slaves, who each carried 1.8 kg (4 lb) of gold bars, and heralds dressed in silks, who bore gold staffs, organized horses, and handled bags and 80 camels which each carried 23–136 kg (50–300 lb) of gold dust. Musa provided all necessities for the procession, feeding the entire company of men and animals. Musa gave the gold to the poor he met along his route. Musa not only gave to the cities he passed on the way to Mecca, including Cairo and Medina, but also traded gold for souvenirs.
Musa’s generous actions inadvertently devastated the economies of the regions through which he passed. In the cities of Cairo, Medina, and Mecca, the sudden influx of gold devalued the metal for the next decade. Prices on goods and wares greatly inflated. To rectify the gold market, on his way back from Mecca, Musa borrowed all the gold he could carry from money-lenders in Cairo at high interest. This is the only time recorded in history that one man directly controlled the price of gold in the Mediterranean
It is recorded that Mansa Musa traveled through the cities of Timbuktu and Gao on his way to Mecca, and made them a part of his empire when he returned around 1325.
News of the Malian empire’s city of wealth even traveled across the Mediterranean to southern Europe, where traders from Venice, Granada, and Genoa soon added Timbuktu to their maps to trade manufactured goods for gold. Timbuktu soon became a center of trade, culture, and Islam.
While Musa’s palace has since vanished, the university (Sankore) and mosque still stand in Timbuktu today.
2. Genghis Khan
1206-1227
King of Mongol Empire
Estimated wealth: $100+ trillion
The Mongol empire was one the greatest empires world ever seen, stretching from asia to west until eurasia. Mongols conquered vast stretches of lands (25 square million miles) and controlling silk road, bringing Genghis Khan so much wealth
3. Zhao Xu
1048-1085
Emperor Shenzong of Song in China)
Estimated wealth: $30 trillion
Zhau Xu was the sixth emperor of the Song dynasty in China. His original personal name was Zhao Zhongzhen but he changed it to “Zhao Xu” after his coronation. He reigned from 1067 until his death in 1085.
The enormous wealth came from technology innovations and efficient reform in collecting taxes. The Song dynasty was the first to use gun powder and first to introduce paper money during the 11th century. The emperor supported modern welfare state in well being of their citizens.
The Emperor Shenzong died in 1085 at the age of 36 from an unspecified illness and was succeeded by his son, Zhao Xu
4. Akbar
1542-1605
Emperor of India’s Mughal dynasty)
Estimated wealth: $21 trillion
The Indian emperor conquered hundreds of thousands of square miles of territory and ruled over much of the Indian subcontinent, known as the Mughal Empire from 1556 until 1605. He controlled around 25% of the world’s GDP at the time, which would translate to a staggering $21 trillion today.
The Mughals lived in luxury rivalled only the Bourbons of France, the Hapsburg of Austria, the Romanov’s of Russia and the emperors of China. So impressed were the British by the wealth of the Mughals, the word “Mughal” entered the English language as a term to describe an all-powerful ruler of industry, films or other endeavour. Some historians even say, Mughals had a GDP per capita, compared to Elizabeth of England
The seat of power of the Mughal empire was the “Peacock Throne.” It had in it background an image of a peacock with an expanded tail wrought in gold and precious stones. A gold divan surmounted by bejewelled peacocks was the symbol of Mughal power and wealth.
During Akbar’s period military innovations in cannons, fortifications, and the use of elephants were introduced.
5. Augustus Caesar
63 BC-14 AD
Roman emperor
Estimated wealth: $4.6tn
The Roman emperor controlled vast stretches of land throughout the Roman empire controlling many states. His personal fortune was equivalent to 20% of the entire empire’s economy
Caesars wealth peaked when he owned Egypt as part of his personal private property. During his period, Egypt contributed 25-30% of GDP and had some of the best agricultural land.
6. Amenhotep III
1388–1351 BC
Pharoah of Egypt
Estimated wealth: $4-6 trillion
During the 18th dynasty egypt was a global superpower both in military and trade. His reign was a period of unprecedented prosperity and artistic splendour, when Egypt reached the peak of its artistic and international power
Amemhotep was lucky, during his reign there where no wars and Egypt’s weapon trade was at an all-time height. He kept all money inside the family so when his mother who controlled most of the wealth died he became head of the family. This gave him literally all land in egypt giving him a total wealth 4 to 6 trillion USD.
The high estimate makes him the wealthiest man in history and the low estimate makes him the second wealthiest after Augustus Caesar (4,2 trillion)
7. King Solomon
970 – 931 BCE
King of Israel
Estimated: $2.2 trillion
King Solomon’s riches came from taxation, trade and tributes. According to the Bible, King Solomon during his rule he is said to have received 25 tons of gold for each of the 39 years of his reign.
In a single year, according to 1 Kings 10:14, Solomon collected tribute amounting to 666 talents(18,125 kilograms) of gold. Solomon is described as surrounding himself with all the luxuries and the grandeur of an Eastern monarch, and his government prospered.
The Hebrew Bible credits him as the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem, using the vast wealth he and his father had accumulated. He dedicated the King Solomon’s temple to Yahweh, the God of Israel.
Royal Wealth in Modern Times
Rank
Name
Title
Net worth
Source of wealth
1
Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum
Dubai Sheikh
$31.7 billion (April 2011)
Chairman of the Emirates Group, Dubai World, Noor Bank, DACC, and Noor Takaful insurance company.
2
Bhumibol Adulyadej
King of Thailand (died 2016)
$30.0 billion (April 2011)
Investments derived from the Bureau of the Crown Property.
3
Hassanal Bolkiah
Sultan of Brunei
$20.0 billion (April 2011)
Profits from oil and gas industry.
4
Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
King of Saudi Arabia (died 2015)
$18.0 billion (April 2011)
Profits from oil industry.
5
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
President of the United Arab Emirates
Emir of Abu Dhabi
$15.0 billion (April 2011)
Investments from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
6
Mohammed VI
King of Morocco
$5.7 billion (2015)
Investments in SNI and Siger Holdings.
7
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates
Emir Sheikh of Dubai
$4.5 billion (April 2011)
Majority share of Dubai Holding and investments from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
8
Hans Adam II
Prince of Liechtenstein
$3.5 billion (April 2011)
Holdings in the Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation.
9
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
Emir of Qatar (as of 2011, abdicated 2013)
$2.4 billion (April 2011)
From various enterprises.
10
Albert II
Prince of Monaco
$1.0 billion (April 2011)
Various enterprises, including Société des bains de mer de Monacoand casinos.
11
Karim al-Hussayni
Aga Khan IV
$800 million (July 2010)
From various enterprises, including Aga Khan Development Network.
12
Qaboos bin Said al Said
Sultan of Oman
$700 million (July 2010)
From various enterprises.
13
Elizabeth II
Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms (etc..)
$450 million (April 2011)
From property, jewelry and other assets. See Finances of the British Royal Family.
14
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
Emir of Kuwait
$350 million (July 2010)
From various enterprises
15
Beatrix
Queen of the Netherlands (as of 2011, abdicated 2013)
$200 million (April 2011)
Holdings in Royal Dutch Shell.
16
Mswati III
King of Swaziland
$100 million (July 2010)
From various enterprises.
How much is enough? Lets go bit further above trillions
Extreme Wealth in Numbers
These are the pinnacles of extreme wealth. Such wealth cannot be found in earth, unless human venture out to space colonies in search of vast riches.
Germany
Ireland
Iceland
United Kingdom
Spain
United States
Portugal
Italy
France
Luxembourg
Canada
Australia
Malta
New Zealand
