Embargoed  until  10h00BST,  Sunday  22  July  2012     Revealed:   global   super-­‐rich   has   at   least   $21   trillion   hidden   in   secret  tax  havens     At   least   $21   trillion   of   unreported   private   financial   wealth   was   owned  by  wealthy  individuals  via  tax  havens  at  the  end  of  2010.    This   sum   is   equivalent   to   the   size   of   the   United   States   and   Japanese   economies  combined.     There  may  be  as  much  as  $32  trillion  of  hidden  financial  assets  held   offshore   by   high   net   worth   individuals   (HNWIs),   according   to   our   report   The   Price   of   Offshore   Revisited1,   which   is   thought   to   be   the   most  detailed  and   rigorous  study   ever  made  of  financial   assets   held   in  offshore  financial  centres  and  secrecy  structures.       We  consider  these   numbers  to  be  conservative.   This  is  only  financial   wealth   and   excludes   a   welter   of   real   estate,   yachts   and   other   non-­‐ financial  assets  owned  via  offshore  structures.     The  research  for  the  Tax  Justice  Network  (TJN)  by  former  McKinsey   &   Co   Chief   Economist   James   Henry   comes   amid   growing   concerns   about   an   enormous   and   growing   gulf   between   rich   and   poor   in   countries   around   the   globe.   Accompanying   this   research   is   another   study   by  TJN,  entitled   Inequality:   You   Don’t   Know   the   Half  of   It,   which   demonstrates   that   all   studies   of   economic   inequality   to   date   have   failed   to   account   properly   for   this   missing   wealth.   It   concludes   that   inequality  is  far  w orse  than  we  think.                                                                                                                     1  All  the  documents  described  here  c an  b e  found  o n  o ur  permanent  web  page,   here  http://www.taxjustice.net/cms/front_content.php?idcat=148       1   The  Price  of  Offshore  Revisited:  Press  Release    –  19th  July  2012       Henry   draws   on   data   from   the   World   Bank,   the   IMF,   the   United   Nations,   central   banks,   the   Bank   for   International   Settlements,   and   national   treasuries,   and   triangulates   his   results   against   data   reflecting   demand   for   reserve   currency   and   gold,   and   data   on   offshore  private  banking  studies  by  consulting  firms  and  others.     Other  main  findings  of  this  wide-­‐ranging  research  include:     • Our   analysis   finds   that   at   the   end   of   2010   the   Top   50   private   banks   alone   collectively   managed   more   than   $12.1   trillion   in   cross-­‐border  invested  assets  for  private   clients,  including  their   trusts   and   foundations.   This   is   up   from   $5.4   trillion   in   2005,     representing  an  average  annual  growth  rate  of  more  than  16%.       • The   three  private   banks   handling   the   most   assets   offshore   on   behalf   of   the   global   super-­‐rich   are   UBS,   Credit   Suisse   and   Goldman  Sachs.   The   top   ten  banks   alone  commanded  over  half   the  top  fifty’s  asset  total  –  an  increased  share  since  2005.       • The  number  of  the  global  super-­‐rich  who  have  amassed  a  $21   trillion   offshore   fortune   is   fewer   than   10   million   people.   Of   these,  less  than  100,000   people  worldwide  own   $9.8  trillion  of   wealth  held  offshore.     • If   this   unreported   $21-­‐32   trillion,   conservatively   estimated,   earned  a  modest  rate  of  return  of  just  3%,  and  that  income  was   taxed   at   just   30%,   this   would   have   generated   income   tax   revenues  of  between  $190-­‐280  bn  –  roughly  twice  the  amount   OECD  countries  spend  on  all  overseas  development  assistance   around   the   world.   Inheritance,   capital   gains   and   other   taxes   would  boost  this  figure  considerably.     • For   our   focus   subgroup   of   139   mostly   low-­‐middle   income   countries,   traditional   data   shows   aggregate   external   debts   of   $4.1  tn  at  the  end  of  2010.  But  take  their  foreign  reserves  and   unrecorded   offshore   private   wealth   into   account,   and   the   picture   reverses:   they   had   aggregate   net   debts   of   minus   US$10.1-­‐13.1  tn.  In  other  words,  these   countries  are  big  net   creditors,   not   debtors.   Unfortunately,   their   assets   are   held   by   a  few  wealthy  individuals,  while  their  debts  are  shouldered  by   their  ordinary  people  through  their  governments.         2   The  Price  of  Offshore  Revisited:  Press  Release    –  19th  July  2012       James  S.   Henry,   TJN   Senior   Adviser   and   main   researcher   for   The   Price  of  Offshore  Revisited,  said:       “This  new  report  focuses  our  attention  on  a  huge  “black  hole”   in  the   world  economy  that   has  never   before   been  measured  –     private   offshore   wealth,   and   the   vast   amounts   of   untaxed   income   that   it   produces.       This   at   a   time   when   governments   around  the   world  are  starved   for   resources,   and  we  are   more   conscious  than  ever  of  the  costs  of  economic    inequality.”       “Using  several  independent  estimation  methods,  and  the  most   comprehensive  data  set  ever  assembled,  we  have  been  able  to   triangulate   on   the   size   and   growth   of   this   black   hole.   Despite   taking   pains   to   err   on   the   conservative   side,   the   results   are   astonishing.”         “First,   this   hidden   offshore   sector   is   large   enough   to   make   a   significant   difference   to   all   of   our   conventional   measures   of   inequality.”       “Since   most   of   missing   financial  wealth  belongs   to   a   tiny  elite,   the   impact   is   staggering.   For   most   countries,   global   financial   inequality   is   not   only   much   greater   than   we   suspected,   but   it   has  been  growing  much  faster.”     “Second,   the   lost   tax  revenue   implied   by  our   estimates   is   huge.   It   is   large   enough   to   make   a   significant   difference   to   the   finances   of   many   countries,   especially   developing   countries   that  are  now  struggling  to   replace   lost  aid  dollars  and  pay   for   climate   change.     Indeed,   once   we   take   these   hidden   offshore   assets   and   the   earnings   they   produce   into   account,   many   erstwhile   “debtor   countries”   are   in   fact   revealed   to   be   wealthy.   But  the  problem  is,  their  wealth  is  now  offshore,  in  the  hands  of   their   own   elites   and   their   private   bankers.   Indeed,   the   developing  world  as  a  whole  has  been  a  significant  CREDITOR   of   the   developed   world   for   more   than   a   decade.     That   means   this   is   really   a   tax   justice   problem,   not   simply   a   “debt”   problem.”       “Third,   it   turns   out  that  this   offshore  sector  –  which  specializes   in   tax   dodging   -­‐   is   basically   designed   and   operated,   not   by   shady   no-­‐name   banks   located   in   sultry   islands,   but   by   the   3   The  Price  of  Offshore  Revisited:  Press  Release    –  19th  July  2012       world’s  largest  private  banks,  law  firms,  and  accounting  firms,   headquartered   in   First   World   capitals   like   London,   New   York,   and   Geneva.   Our   detailed   analysis   of   these   banks   shows   that   the   leaders   are   the   very   same   ones   that   have   figured   so   prominently  in  government  bailouts  and  other  recent  financial   chicanery.       “Fourth,     given  all   this,   it   is   scandalous   that   official   institutions   like  the  Bank   for  International  Settlements,  the  IMF,  the  World   Bank,  the  OECD,  and  the  G20,  as  well  as  leading  central  banks,     have   devoted   so   little   research   to   this   sector.     This   scandal   is   made  w orse  by  the  fact  that  they  already  have  much  of  the  data   needed   to   estimate   this   sector   more   carefully.   For   reasons   of   their  own,  they  have  tolerated  the  growth  of  the  offshore  sector   for   far   too   long,   out   of   sight.   It   is   time   for   them   to   live   up   to   their  promises,  and  work  with  us  on  concrete  policies  to  get  it   under  control.     “From  another   angle,  this  study  is  really  good   news.    The  world   has   just   located   a   huge   pile   of   financial   wealth   that   might   be   called  upon  to  contribute  to  the  solution  of  our  most  pressing   global   problems.   We   have   an   opportunity   to   think   not   only   about  how  to  prevent  some  of  the  abuses  that  have  led  to  it,  but   also   to   think   about   how   best   to   make   use   of   the   untaxed   earnings  that  it  generates.”           For  more  information  about  this  report,  please  contact:     1.     James   S.   Henry,   TJN   Senior   Adviser/   Main   researcher   for   this   report,  United  States.     Email:    jhenry@sagharbor.com   Office:  (001)  631  725  5202      US  Mobile:  (001)  516  721  1452       2.  John  Christensen,  director,  Tax  Justice  Network,  United  Kingdom   Email:  john@taxjustice.net        Mobile:  (00  44)  7979  868302       3.  Nick  Mathiason,  Bureau  for  Investigative  Journalism   Email:  nickmathiason@tbij.com  Mobile:  (00  44)  77  99  348  619         4   The  Price  of  Offshore  Revisited:  Press  Release    –  19th  July  2012       Key  Tables                               5   The  Price  of  Offshore  Revisited:  Press  Release    –  19th  July  2012                         6   The  Price  of  Offshore  Revisited:  Press  Release    –  19th  July  2012