Goldman Sachs is opening an office in Monaco as it expands operations for the world’s ultra rich, marking a return to the city-state famed for its casinos, glitzy events and low taxes.
Many of the world’s super-wealthy own a home in Monaco, where almost a third of its 39,000 residents are millionaires. The Mediterranean playground, which covers an area smaller than New York’s Central Park, doesn’t typically impose taxes on income or capital gains and is the scene for one of the world’s biggest annual yacht shows as well as a Formula One race through its steep, serpentine streets.
New York-based Goldman received approval last month to set up a branch for its wealth unit there, about six years after it closed an earlier office, according to registry filings. It hired Barclays veterans Arnaud Caussin and Thibaut Lambert to lead the new team, and recruited wealth adviser Serge Olive from the British bank as well, Goldman said in a statement.
The company’s private wealth unit has added
“The opening of our presence in Monaco is critical to delivering on our regionalization strategy and overall growth plan,” Chris French, co-head of private-wealth management for EMEA, said in the statement. “Monaco represents a significant jurisdiction for our Private Wealth business in Europe.”
Among the city-state’s residents are Jim Ratcliffe, founder of British chemical firm Ineos, and Russian tycoon Dmitry Rybolovlev, who also owns Monaco’s football club. The pair have a net worth of $13.2 billion and $10.8 billion, respectively, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Goldman joins global banks including Citigroup and UBS in having a presence in Monaco. Revenue at Goldman’s wealth-management and consumer unit rose 25% to $7.5 billion in 2021 from a year earlier. It had about $751 billion of assets under supervision at year-end.
