Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

Are you a “high-net-worth-individual”? Or maybe even an “ultra-high-net-worth-individual”? If so, a global wealth report published today might not be such nice reading for you. First, the news and updates of the day.

Keystone / Peter Schneider

In the news: arms exports to Ukraine back in the headlines.

• Swiss state-owned armament company Ruag has submitted an official export request to sell 96 Leopard 1 tanks to German company Rheinmetall, which in turn wants to forward them on to Ukraine. A preliminary request about the non-operational tanks – currently in storage in Italy – was refused earlier this year due to neutrality and arms export rules.
• A Swiss court has confirmed a 20-year prison sentence handed down in 2021 to a Liberian rebel commander convicted of 22 counts of war crimes, including rape, murder and an act of cannibalism. Alieu Kosiah was also convicted in Bellinzona of crimes against humanity committed during Liberia’s first civil war in the 1990s.
• Switzerland’s high-price housing market is set to get even pricier. After years of decline, the reference interest rate for rents has climbed for the first time in history, from 1.25% to 1.5%, the Federal Office of Housing said today. Under Swiss law, a benchmark increase by a quarter percentage-point allows landlords to raise rents by 3%.

© Keystone / Christian Beutler

Global wealth: taking a hit.

“High-net-worth-individuals”, also sometimes known as “rich people”, are becoming less common. A study today by the Capgemini consultant firm says the number of such individuals (with assets over $1 million) dropped by 3.3% globally last year to 21.7 million. The decline, the biggest in a decade, was apparently driven by “geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties”, also sometimes known as “war and chaos”. Switzerland also didn’t escape the trend, although the drop here was less severe than elsewhere. But if anybody is fretting about the fate of rich people, it’s not all bad: while millionaires might be dwindling, “ultra-high-net-worth-individuals”, also sometimes known as “filthy rich people”, are doing fine: since 2020, $26 trillion (63%) of all new wealth created on the planet has been captured by the richest 1%, Oxfam reportedExternal link in January.

Keystone / Bernat Armangue

Federer: in-demand voice.

One person not suffering from any decline in fortune is ultra-high-net-worth-individual Roger Federer: his annual income went up last year to $95 billion, Forbes reported earlier this month. And King Roger is not slowing down. His latest job is as a voice for navigation app Waze, Reuters reports todayExternal link. Users can hear him uttering (in French, German, and English) titbits like: “It’s drive time – I can feel the adrenaline kicking in already”, and “Alright, I’m pumped for this drive”. Federer’s friendly voice is however not likely to be heard on the airwaves during the Wimbledon tournament this year: rumours that he was set to commentate for the BBC have come to nothing, 20 Minuten writes todayExternal link. As for Swiss public broadcaster SRF, they have reportedly heard nothing from the former tennis player.

© Keystone – Sda / Ti-press

Weather causes mini-havoc in southern Switzerland.

Violent storms and hailstones the size of ping-pong balls blew down on canton Ticino in southern Switzerland this week, destroying crops and laying waste to the famous Piazza Grande in Locarno (above), which had been nicely decked out in yellow for the annual film festival. The train station in Sion, canton Valais, was also battered (below). Authorities investigating the event initially carried out an extensive hunt for a giant man with a blue umbrella, pictured at the scene in both places, before finally realising that the damage was to “Swissminiatur” in Ticino: a well-known museum which features mini-models of Switzerland’s most famous buildings and monuments at a 1:25 scale. Despite the damage, Swissminiatur says it remains open to the public.