Heir to US$27 billion Bharti fortune joins Britain's wealth exodus
[LONDON] An heir from one of India's richest families, the top shareholder in UK telecommunications giant BT Group, has relocated from Britain amid tax hikes on the nation's wealthy residents.
Shravin Bharti Mittal, 37, now lists the United Arab Emirates as his residence after previously listing the UK, according to a registry filing for part of his billionaire family's namesake conglomerate, which owns 24.5 per cent of one of Britain's largest mobile and broadband companies. He set up an Abu Dhabi branch last month for an investment firm, Unbound, he founded in London, other filings show.
Representatives for the Bharti Mittal family, who have a combined fortune of US$27.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, did not immediately respond to e-mails and calls seeking comment.
The move shows how some of the world's richest millennials are joining their older counterparts in exiting the UK after it introduced sweeping tax reforms targeting its wealthy non-domiciled residents, who live in the UK but originally hail from abroad.
It's also a blow to the British government's ambitions to attract top global talent, part of broader efforts to improve the UK's immigration system outlined by Keir Starmer's Labour administration in a wide-ranging policy document released this month.
In March 2024, the then-ruling Conservative government scrapped a preferential regime for non-doms that allowed them to avoid UK taxes on their overseas earnings for as long as 15 years, replacing it with a shorter timeframe. Labour mirrored that policy after winning the UK general election in July, but Chancellor Rachel Reeves went a step further and eliminated inheritance tax breaks on non-doms' overseas assets, causing many of them to leave or consider leaving.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign Up
Sign Up
A study this month from the Centre for Economics and Business Research think-tank said the changes will end up costing the UK money if at least a quarter of its roughly 74,000 non-doms exit.
Other individuals leaving the UK for the Middle East include Egypt's richest person, Nassef Sawiris, who is relocating to Abu Dhabi as well as Italy. Two members of the billionaire Lazari dynasty – Leonidas, 58, and Nicholas, 54, whose namesake investment firm owns swathes of London properties – are now usually living in Cyprus, other filings show. A spokesperson for Lazari Investments, whose late founder Christos was born in the Mediterranean nation that offers its own non-don regime, declined to comment.
'There will certainly be an exodus,' said Gianpaolo Mantini, a London-based partner and financial planner at wealth advisory firm Saltus. Those doing so 'are already tax mobile'.
UK ties
Shravin Bharti Mittal is a high-profile example of a scion from an ultra-rich family putting down roots and investing in Britain, a nation that's traditionally been a leader in luring the global elite.
He started his career in London more than a decade ago, working at JPMorgan Chase as an investment banking analyst after studying accounting and finance at the University of Bath, according to his LinkedIn profile. He then worked at a private equity firm in London before becoming a managing director for an investment arm of New Delhi-based Bharti Enterprises, which was founded by his father Sunil and has other holdings spanning finance, real estate and hospitality.
He still held that role at Bharti Global when it bought a stake in BT last year from billionaire Patrick Drahi. His 41-year-old sister, Eiesha, who continues to lists the UK as her residency, took on that position from Apr 1, when Shravin's relocation to the UAE also took place, filings show. BLOOMBERG
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
At the UN, Iran accuses US of being complicit in Israel's strikes
UNITED NATIONS - Iran has accused the United States of being complicit in Israel's attacks on the Islamic Republic, which Washington denied, telling Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would 'be wise' to negotiate over its nuclear programme. Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel late on June 13 after Israel attacked Iran earlier in the day. Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said Iran had been 'preparing for war' and Israel's strikes were 'an act of national preservation'. His Iranian counterpart, Amir Saeid Iravani, accused Israel of seeking 'to kill diplomacy, to sabotage negotiations, and to drag the region into wider conflict,' and he said Washington's complicity was 'beyond doubt'. 'Those who support this regime, with the United States at the forefront, must understand that they are complicit,' Mr Iravani told the Security Council. 'By aiding and enabling these crimes, they share full responsibility for the consequences.' US President Donald Trump on June 13 said that he had given Tehran a 60-day ultimatum, which expired a day earlier, to make a deal over its escalating uranium enrichment programme. A sixth round of US-Iran talks had been scheduled to take place in Oman on June 15, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead. Mr Danon said Israel had been patient despite mounting risks. 'We waited for diplomacy to work ... We watched negotiations stretch on, as Iran made false concessions or refused the most fundamental conditions,' he told the Security Council. He said intelligence had confirmed Iran could have produced enough fissile material for multiple bombs within days. Senior US official McCoy Pitt said the United States will continue to seek a diplomatic resolution that ensures Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon or pose a threat to stability in the Middle East. 'Iran's leadership would be wise to negotiate at this time,' Mr Pitt told the council. While Washington was informed of Israel's initial strikes ahead of time, it was not militarily involved, he said. UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council the above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear site had been destroyed, and that Iran has reported that nuclear sites at Fordow and Isfahan were also attacked. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 14, 2025
Fire and smoke rising from a building in central Tel Aviv, after it was reportedly hit by a missile fired from Iran, on June 13. PHOTO: AFP While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 14, 2025 Iran fires back at Israel after targeting of nuclear facilities Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel in a counter-strike on June 13, after an unprecedented onslaught hammered the Islamic republic's top military brass and targeted its nuclear facilities and bases. Iran said it had activated its air-defence system on the night of June 13 and explosions could be heard on the night of June 13 across Tehran, AFP reporters said. Air raids sirens and explosions rang out across Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to the airwaves to warn he expected 'several waves of Iranian attacks' in response. Smoke could later be seen billowing above the skyscrapers in downtown Tel Aviv, an AFP journalist reported, as Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it had attacked dozens of targets in Israel. READ MORE HERE Israel used long-planned subterfuge in Iran attack Israel sent Mossad commandos deep into Iran to destroy Iranian weapons systems during Israel's attack on nuclear and military targets, an Israeli security source said, while another official said Israel used a ploy to suggest the strike was not imminent. The Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the clandestine nature of the operations, described secret and lengthy preparations that went into an attack that sent oil prices sharply higher on fears of regional escalation. Iranian officials who spoke to Reuters shortly before the attack had been dismissive about any imminent action and repeatedly said talk of strikes was just 'psychological pressure' to influence US-Iranian nuclear negotiations that were due on June 15. READ MORE HERE War, trade, Air India crash cast cloud over Paris Air Show War, tariffs and the Air India crash will cast a shadow over the Paris Air Show as the aerospace industry's biggest annual gathering opens on June 16. More than 2,400 companies from 48 countries are showing off their hardware at the week-long event at Le Bourget airfield on the outskirts of Paris. The sales rivalry between Airbus and Boeing usually drives the headlines as the world's top civilian planemakers announce many of their biggest orders at the air show. READ MORE HERE Two men jailed for stealing $7m, 18-carat gold toilet Two men were jailed on June 13 for stealing an 18-carat golden toilet that had been on display as an artwork in an exhibition at Sir Winston Churchill's birthplace. The fully functioning toilet - a work titled America, by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan - was stolen from the Churchill family seat of Blenheim Palace in southern England, a major tourist attraction and Unesco World Heritage Site. Prosecutor Julian Christopher told jurors at the start of the trial at Oxford Crown Court in February that a group of five men had driven two stolen vehicles through locked wooden gates into the palace grounds before dawn on Sept 14, 2019. READ MORE HERE Zheng beats Raducanu at Queen's after change of shoes Top seed Zheng Qinwen beat home favourite Emma Raducanu 6-2 6-4 to move into the semi-finals at the Queen's Club Championships on June 13, while 37-year-old Tatjana Maria upset 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina to reach the last four. In an entertaining battle at the Andy Murray Arena, Zheng showed she could be a worthy contender heading into Wimbledon as she marched into her first semi-final on grass when she converted her fourth match point. Zheng has won singles titles on clay and hardcourts but she is still adapting to grass, with the 22-year-old showing a marked improvement in her match with Raducanu after she changed her shoes midway through a game when the Briton was serving. READ MORE HERE Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
Meta's US$14.8 billion Scale AI deal latest test of AI partnerships
[NEW YORK] Facebook owner Meta's US$14.8 billion investment in Scale AI and hiring of the data-labeling startup's chief executive offiecer will test how the Trump administration views so-called acquihire deals, which some have criticized as an attempt to evade regulatory scrutiny. The deal, announced on Thursday (Jun 12), was Meta's second-largest investment to date. It gives the owner of Facebook a 49 per cent nonvoting stake in Scale AI, which uses gig workers to manually label data and includes among its customers Meta competitors Microsoft and ChatGPT creator OpenAI. Unlike an acquisition or a transaction that would give Meta a controlling stake, the deal does not require a review by US antitrust regulators. However, they could probe the deal if they believe it was structured to avoid those requirements or harm competition. The deal appeared to be structured to avoid potential pitfalls, such as cutting off competitors' access to Scale's services or giving Meta an inside view into rivals' operations – though Reuters exclusively reported on Friday that Alphabet's Google has decided to sever ties with Scale in light of Meta's stake, and other customers are looking at taking a step back. In a statement, a Scale AI spokesperson said its business, which spans work with major companies and governments, remains strong, as it is committed to protecting customer data. The company declined to comment on specifics with Google. Alexandr Wang, Scale's 28-year-old CEO who is coming to Meta as part of the deal, will remain on Scale's board but will have appropriate restrictions placed around his access to information, two sources familiar with the move confirmed. Large tech companies likely perceive the regulatory environment for AI partnerships as easier to navigate under President Donald Trump than under former President Joe Biden, said William Kovacic, director of the competition law center at George Washington University. Trump's antitrust enforcers have said they do not want to regulate how AI develops, but have also displayed a suspicion of large tech platforms, he added. 'That would lead me to think they will keep looking carefully at what the firms do. It does not necessarily dictate that they will intervene in a way that would discourage the relationships,' Kovacic said. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Federal Trade Commission probes into past 'aquihire' deals appear to be at a standstill. Under the Biden administration, the FTC opened inquiries into Amazon's deal to hire top executives and researchers from AI startup Adept, and Microsoft's US$650 million deal with Inflection AI. The latter allowed Microsoft to use Inflection's models and hire most of the startup's staff, including its co-founders. Amazon's deal closed without further action from the regulator, a source familiar with the matter confirmed. And, more than a year after its initial inquiry, the FTC has so far taken no enforcement action against Microsoft over Inflection, though a larger probe over practices at the software giant is ongoing. A spokesperson for the FTC declined to comment on Friday. David Olson, a professor who teaches antitrust law at Boston College Law School, said it was smart of Meta to take a minority nonvoting stake. 'I think that does give them a lot of protection if someone comes after them,' he said, adding that it was still possible that the FTC would want to review the agreement. The Meta deal has its skeptics. US Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts who is probing AI partnerships involving Microsoft and Google, said Meta's investment should be scrutinised. 'Meta can call this deal whatever it wants – but if it violates federal law because it unlawfully squashes competition or makes it easier for Meta to illegally dominate, antitrust enforcers should investigate and block it,' she said in a statement on Friday. While Meta faces its own monopoly lawsuit by the FTC, it remains to be seen whether the agency will have any questions about its Scale investment. The US Department of Justice's antitrust division, led by former JD Vance adviser Gail Slater, recently started looking into whether Google's partnership with chatbot creator was designed to evade antitrust review, Bloomberg News reported. The DOJ is separately seeking to make Google give it advance notice of new AI investments as part of a proposal to curb the company's dominance in online search. REUTERS
