Nik Storonsky, cofounder of digital banking app Revolut, is the latest billionaire to shift their residence away from the U.K. after the government scrapped a generous tax break earlier this year.
Storonsky now lists the United Arab Emirates as his place of residence in an U.K corporate filing for his family office released on October 7. The filings state that Storonsky shifted his residence away from the U.K. in October 2024.
Forbes estimates that Storonsky’s stake in Revolut, which he cofounded in 2015 with Vlad Yatsenko, is now worth over $7.9 billion, with the London-based fintech now reportedly in talks to raise at a $65 billion valuation.
Storonsky marks one of the most high-profile departures of the ultra-wealthy from the U.K. since the British government scrapped special tax privileges for so-called non-domiciled residents. The 200-year-old tax rule turned the British capital into a hub for the global rich by allowing them to avoid UK taxes on overseas earnings for up to 15 years.
British chancellor Rachel Reeves’ scrapped the loophole in April in a move that triggered an exodus of wealthy founders and investors. Since the overhaul of the non-dom rules, Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris, startup investor Christian Angermayer and billionaire Property developers Ian and Richard Livingstone have all changed their residence, according to U.K. corporate filings.
Bloomberg reported in June that around 4,400 business leaders had filed papers indicating an overseas move over the last year. The U.K.’s tax agency, HMRC has sought to downplay the impact of the change that was meant to net $3.6 billion in new tax revenue for the British government. Only 400 of the 74,100 people with non-dom status left the country in the year before the tax change, per HMRC data.
The news of Storonsky’s departure comes less than a month after Revolut unveiled a new global headquarters in London’s Canary Wharf. The company has reportedly been exploring a rare dual listing in the British capital and New York. As the UK’s most valuable startup, Revolut’s latest reported valuation outstrips some of the U.K.’s largest banks and even international rivals like Nubank, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Storonsky’s ties to Dubai have been growing over the last year with the Revolut cofounder speaking at several events in the city. Revolut last year opened an office in Dubai and secured a license to operate in the United Arab Emirates in September. Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala sovereign wealth fund took a stake in Revolut last year.
Forbes reported in June that Storonsky was developing a portfolio of luxury properties and resorts as part of a new travel business named Utopia Design. Revolut told Forbes in June that Storonsky remained a U.K. tax resident and had only travelled to the UAE to support the startup’s expansion. Revolut did not respond to a request for comment.
Russia-born Storonsky moved to the United Kingdom as a trader with Lehman Brothers, and later Credit Suisse, before cofounded Revolut in 2015. Storonsky renounced his Russian citizenship following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and is now reportedly a British and French citizen.