LONDON — Alessandro Belluzzo advises families who move money, businesses, and children across borders. A barrister in London and founding partner of Belluzzo International Partners, he took the practice his father founded in Verona in 1982 to London, Singapore, Lugano, and Abu Dhabi. The firm’s motto is “a family business firm for business families.” He spoke to Italy Now about succession, tax, and a world in which none of his clients lives in a single city.
Q. Are London’s wealthy really leaving since the end of the non-dom regime?
“It’s true that some long-term residents left London,” he said. “But it’s also true that we see newcomers from the US, from Asia, and a new generation. It’s not just about tax or the legal system. It’s about the lifestyle.”
He named Italy, Switzerland, and the Emirates as alternative options. “No one thought about the Emirates 20 or 30 years ago. It’s a changing world, and you need the right advisers to follow these changes.”
Q. Are young Italians who left for London still coming home?
“We see it less now,” he said, as Italy has cut the tax break for returning workers. “On the contrary, I see new people coming from different countries and backgrounds to Britain, and to London especially.”
Q. Why open in Abu Dhabi?
“The Emirates have positioned themselves as a hub for wealthy families, high net worth individuals, and digital nomads,” Belluzzo said. Families there can choose English common law through the financial centres in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. “You have the security of something you might understand better.”
Q. You also advise footballers, Formula One drivers, and tennis players. What goes wrong with their money?
“They don’t divide the career in three, at the beginning, during, and after,” he said. “They trust only the agents or the families. They don’t have an independent adviser on their side.”
Q. What concerns you most about the families you advise today?
“The young generations, especially from wealthy backgrounds, don’t mind paying taxes anymore,” he said. “They want to enjoy their life and, even more, they need to be protected.”
For him, the answer is planning across borders. “It’s not about the tax percentage you pay. It’s how you manage your wealth that counts.”
Q. What is the classic mistake when a founder has to let go?
“When you speak to Italian families about generational passage, they don’t like to discuss it in advance,” Belluzzo said. “They focus more on the tax side, which to me is just wrong and is not the starting point.”
He said families should start from their priorities, vision, and legacy. “Anglo-Saxon entrepreneurs write wills right at the beginning. They don’t wait for the last days, and that is much better because you have a clearer mind. You can always change your wills, you can always change your trust, you can always change your planning.”
Q. Italy’s flat tax for new residents has risen from €100,000 to €300,000 a year. Is Italy still a bargain?
“I wouldn’t call it a bargain,” he said. “I would call it a secure option for a family to decide to reside in Italy if certain conditions are met.”
He added that Italy was never on the list of countries where the wealthy relocated before the reform. “Now finally Italy is seen as a destination.”
