The government is suspending a controversial rise in fees for owners who leave their cars stationary in public car parks for more than a month at a time, amid claims the move goes against Monaco’s green vision.
It was announced on Friday that, as part of its annual price review, the Public Parking Service would be increasing the monthly fee for ‘day and night’ subscribers by €60 a month for owners who have not moved their vehicles for a month or more.
According to the government, close to 400 “suction cup” vehicles fell into this category in January 2021 and the number is rising.
The €60 increase would bring the total monthly fee in line with that which is charged for ‘reserved place’ parking.
The news brought immediate backlash on social media, with car owners questioning the government’s price increase amid its encouragement for residents to use soft mobility and public transport.
And on Monday, the Minister of Equipment, Environment and Town Planning Marie-Pierre Gramaglia did a backflip, saying the increase will be suspended amid further analysis.
“Using a car all the time may not be the only option for getting around, but ‘suction cup’ cars in public parking lots are not a solution either,” said the minister. “To move forward on this, I have decided to reassess all aspects of the increase with the Public Parking Service, in particular with an even more detailed analysis of these ‘suction cups’ and direct sensitisation of resident subscribers. I hope that a constructive dialogue can take place.”
How deep do your pockets need to be to join the wealthiest 1% in Monaco? What impact did Covid have on global wealth? What will the biggest influences on wealth creation be in 2021? We look at the latest Wealth Report to find out.
Each year for the past 15 years, Knight Frank releases its flagship publication The Wealth Report, considered important reading for ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) across the globe and their advisers. In this article, we have identified some of the highlights of this year’s report. You will be surprised
The top 1% is frequently referred to, but never really defined. That’s because the level of net wealth that marks the threshold for entering this rarefied community varies widely among different countries and territories.
Using the Frank Knight Wealth Sizing Model, it is possible to determine how much wealth an individual needs to get into the Principality’s branch of the 1% club.
According to Knight Frank’s definition, an ultra high net worth individual (UHNWI) is somebody whose wealth exceeds US $30 million.
Interestingly enough, it takes far less to enter the 1%.
The level of net wealth needed to join the top 1% in the Principality of Monaco is US $7.9 million (€6.5 million).
In second place is the home of the private bank, Switzerland, where US$5.1 million gains you access, followed by the US, which has the highest number of UHNWI residents. Here, US$4.4 million is your ticket to 1% status. Impact of Covid on global wealth
With lower interest rates and more fiscal stimulus, asset prices have surged, driving the world’s UHNW population 2.4% higher over the past 12 months to more than 520,000.
While this was virtually one-third the rate of growth seen in 2019, it is still not what experts would have predicted in the first half of the year, given the impact of the virus.
Growth was seen across North America (+4%) and Europe (+1%), but it was Asia that saw the real upswing with 12%, followed closely by Australasia (+10%), the regions which were seemingly able to control the virus the best.
The expansion in wealth was not universal though, with a fall in the number of UHNWIs in Latin America (-14%), Russia (-21%) and the Middle East (-10%) as currency shifts and the pandemic undermined local economies.
“The rollout of vaccines at the start of 2021 is an extremely positive signal, and one that marks the beginning of a new economic cycle in a post-pandemic world,” said the authors of the Wealth Report. Biggest influences on wealth creation in 2021 The Wealth Report assessed the biggest potential influences on wealth creation and preservation that individuals should be considering in 2021 and beyond. They identified these key areas. New investments
The Covid-19 pandemic and its related closures, lockdowns and travel restrictions, have given people more time to reassess every element of their lives, including their businesses and investments. As a result, the number of new companies being set up is rising. “We are entering a new economic cycle and the prospects for wealth creation and growth are huge,” says David Bailin, Chief Investment Officer at Citi Private Bank.
The availability and greater adoption of technology is an overwhelming factor in this uptick.
“The ability to gather and analyse financial data is only going to improve,” adds Bailin. “The world of investing will be revolutionised, and the number of investors will go through the roof. Small investors are already becoming more market aware, which can create much more wealth globally.”
The rise of Bitcoin and a Reddit co-ordinated drive to push up the stock price of GameStop are examples of how day traders are giving hedge funds a billion dollar kick in the guts. New social order
According to the report, we are witnessing a “K-shaped recovery”, with industries and populations recuperating at different paces.
“A team at Harvard University found that between February and October 2020 in the US, workers in the bottom quartile (annual income of US$27,000 or less) saw employment drop by almost 20%, while among those making more than US$60,000 per year it rose by 1%.”
Why is this a concern for UHNWIs? Because it is likely to lead to an increase in wealth taxes as governments scramble to recover the huge costs of the pandemic.
Argentina’s parliament has approved a proposal to impose a one-time 2% tax on individuals with more than US$2.5 million in assets; Canadian President Justin Trudeau has announced plans to spend billions on childcare, housing and healthcare, partly financed by taxing “extreme wealth inequality”; and a one-off wealth tax to pay for the costs of Covid-19 has been proposed in the UK. Intergenerational relations
Close to 60% of Knight Frank survey respondents said they or their clients had reassessed their attitudes to succession planning in light of Covid-19.
“This is the first time that we see a convergence of the following trends – multigenerational family members working together, and UHNWIs and their families increasingly reflecting more global views,” said Pierre-Yves Lombard of Lombard Odier Group.
“We have also observed younger generations studying in the UK or US before coming back to Asia to work in the family business. They often bring back fresh perspectives and mindsets, which result in very different discussions. They encourage their families to rethink everything.”
The focus on the future to safeguard and grow wealth is imperative and one of the main tensions comes from environmental sustainability where, as Lombard notes, “new generations are challenging the older generations to do more.” Regreening the planet
As seen in previous editions of TheWealth Report, the environment and climate change are increasingly driving investment and lifestyle decisions and philanthropic activity, another trend accelerated by the pandemic.
More than 40% of UHNWIs are more interested in environmental, social and governance (ESG)-focused investments than 12 months ago and 22% are excited by opportunities arising from the ESG agenda, with those in the UK, Australasia and North America the keenest.
In previous downturns the green agenda took a back seat, but this time it’s taking centre stage. The EU has been leading with green bonds and Joe Biden’s new administration will see the US focus more on sustainability.
“The rate of development associated with climate change spending, the future of power generation and storage, and how we address global warming will be as radical in our lives as the development of the internet,” predicts David Bailin.
Forests is the theme of this year’s World Wildlife Day on Wednesday and everyone is encouraged to do their bit by sharing important information about forest preservation through social networks.
World Wildlife Day is celebrated on 3rd March and this year’s theme is ‘Forests and livelihoods – Preserving the planet and its inhabitants’.
Around 350 million people worldwide live in or near forests and close to 1.6 billion depend on them either directly or indirectly.
Forests are biodiversity refuges for 80% of known terrestrial species, they provide essential resources to populations – both food and medicinal, and serve as the lungs of the planet by absorbing a major part of the CO² emitted.
Experts warn that forest ecosystems are threatened and their disappearance will accelerate the process of global warming and the loss of biodiversity with consequences for all humanity.
“It is important that everyone becomes aware of this situation and works on their choices and actions so as not to harm forests, in particular by choosing wood or wood-derived products from sustainably managed forests,” said the Prince’s Government, inviting citizens to celebrate this day by sharing important information via social networks.
A virtual event will take place on YouTube on Wednesday 3rd March at 2pm (CET). The main hashtags related to the 2021 edition of World Wildlife Day are: #DoOneThingToday #WWD2021 and #WorldWildlifeDay
In addition to being part of the United Nations calendar, World Wildlife Day also forms part of the Sustainable Development Goals number one: No poverty, number two: Zero hunger, number 12: Responsible consumption and production, number 13: Climate action, and number 15: Life on land.
For more information: http://www.wildlifeday.org
The French government is inviting people aged over 65 with pre-existing conditions to now get AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, revising its stance on the issue.
Last month France approved use of the vaccine for under-65s only, citing lack of data for older people.
But the government has since made a reversal on this stance.
“People affected by co-morbidities can be vaccinated with AstraZeneca, including those aged between 65 and 74,” France’s Health Minister Olivier Véran said on television, adding that the jab will be available from GP surgeries, hospitals and from pharmacies “within days”.
It comes as the French Health Authority (HAS) on Tuesday gave its recommendation that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine be used for people of all ages, including people aged 65 and over. In a statement, the HAS, which initially recommended the vaccine only for people under 65, cited “encouraging” preliminary results of a large-scale study on the impact of the vaccine on Covid-19 hospitalisations among the Scottish population as the reason for its change.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is widely used across the UK, but several EU countries are still limiting it to the under-65s, including Germany.
The EU drugs regulator has approved it for all adults, but it is up to each member to set its own roll-out policy.
South Africa has delayed the start of its inoculation programme using the AstraZeneca jab over concerns the treatment does not work against the new variant of Covid that originated in the southern African country.
Canada’s immunisation commission on Monday advised against giving the AstraZeneca vaccine to over-65s, saying clinical trial data for that age group was too limited.
Currently, only the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is available in Monaco.
Photo by Steven Cornfield on Unsplash
Sarkozy convicted for trying to offer Monaco bribe
French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to three years in jail, two suspended, for trying to bribe a magistrate by offering him a prestigious job in Monaco.
The 66-year-old was found guilty of corruption on Monday, becoming the first former French president to receive a custodial sentence.
The crimes were specified as influence-peddling and violation of professional secrecy.
Sarkozy was found guilty of trying to offer a magistrate a position in Monaco as a judge, in return for information about a separate criminal case against him.
In the ruling, the Paris judge said the former president could serve a year at home with an electronic tag, rather than go to prison.
The case centred on conversations between magistrate Gilbert Azibert and Thierry Herzog, Sarkozy’s then lawyer, which were taped by police in 2014.
The investigators were looking into claims that Sarkozy had accepted illicit payments from the L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt for his 2007 presidential campaign.
The magistrate and Sarkozy’s former lawyer received similar sentences. All three defendants are expected to appeal.
Sarkozy’s predecessor Jacques Chirac was handed a two-year suspended sentence in 2011 for having arranged bogus jobs at Paris City Hall for allies when he was Paris mayor. Chirac died in 2019.
Hundreds of people were prevented from entering the Principality at the weekend as authorities enforced the Alpes-Maritimes partial lockdown and Monaco’s own strict entry rules.
The government said on Wednesday that it would be stepping up controls in the Principality on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th February after it was announced that the Alpes-Maritimes would go into weekend lockdown for two consecutive weeks.
The aim, it said, was to regulate traffic flow and avoid a potential influx of people escaping France’s confinement as the same did not apply to the Principality.
“It is a question of both guaranteeing the sovereignty of Monaco, which has decided not to confine the weekends like its French neighbour, and of showing a certain solidarity with the French authorities,” said Minister of State Pierre Dartout. “In fact, controlling access to the Principality contributes de facto to enforcing the French rule of travel limited to five kilometres and one hour.”
Any resident of the Alpes-Maritimes coming from a municipality in lockdown, located more than five kilometres from Monaco, was refused access to Monegasque territory.
This did not apply, however, to residents of bordering municipalities such as Cap d’Ail and Beausoleil, “as authorised by the prefectural decree of the Alpes-Maritimes”, revealed Monaco’s Minister of Interior Patrice Cellario.
Around 70 police officers were mobilised over the two days, verifying that each non-resident wanting to enter the Principality had a hotel reservation and a negative PCR test of less than 72 hours. The checks were carried out on all road, rail and air accesses, primarily between 10am to 5pm.
In total, more than 4,000 checks were carried out. Of the 2,500 vehicles stopped, 245 were prevented from entering Monaco. At the train station, 410 passengers were controlled and 45 of those were asked to return home.
Meanwhile, 555 restaurant customers were checked and all were complying with Monaco’s rules.
The government says the strict controls are due to be repeated next weekend also.
Photo by Stéphane Danna / Government Communication Department
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