Why do rich people want no deal/ to leave the EU

[Jimjamjooney]

I'm not looking to start an argument. I didn't vote in the referendum as I was unsure of which option was for the best and struggle to get my head around everything tbh.

I am aware of the stereotypical reasons some people voted leave (immigration etc.) but I also know lots of well off people who want to leave/ remainers that have changed their minds.

Why do some wealthier people actively want Brexit?

[Fragalino]

Millions of very wealthy people want to remain in the eu.

Lots of wealthy people want to leave the eu.

Millions of poor people want to remain in the eu.

Millions of poor people want to leave the eu.
Ie there is no small enclave of all the richest people j in the UK wanting out.

[bellinisurge]

Google "disaster capitalism ". Jacob ReesMogg's Dad, William, literally wrote a book on it.

[SexTrainGlue]

London is the richest area - voted Remain

I think you're looking at the wrong things. Wales isn't a particularly wealthy part of UK, nor is northern England, nor the traditional Labour voting areas - which are the areas which voted Leave with the biggest margins.

[Davespecifico]

I don’t know why either. Rich Brexiteers, what is your rationale?

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Avoiding the EU's crackdown on tax avoidance? Just a thought. Is there a Venn diagram of people mentioned in the Panama Papers and prominent wealthy leavers?

Because I'd bet it's more circle shaped than not.

[Jimjamjooney]

SexTrainGlue I'm asking specifically about wealthy voters reasons for wanting to leave/ being in favour of a no deal situation.

MrsTerryPratchett that could be a point. However what about those that aren't the wealthy elite? One personal example I have is someone living in a house worth over a million (bought for cheap ages ago then extended), husband works in the finance sector contracting as was made redundant. Wealthy by all means but not hiding money abroad type wealthy.

[wigglybeezer]

The new EU tax avoidance regulations plus disaster capitalism plus deregulation of industry.

[bellinisurge]

Op the kind of rich you're talking about think they are immune from any economic downsides. So they aren't swayed by those arguments.

[TheVanguardSix]

Another good read is Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine. It really helps you to understand how disaster capitalism works and why it dominates our global economic system.
I see Brexit as a total tug-o-war between disaster capitalists (who we're in the firm grip of) and cooler heads (more complex than this, I know, but I don't think I'm far from the truth).

[PinoNoir]

Maybe wealthier people are better educated and believe that like every other union of economically unequal states with ethnically diverse population, EU is doomed (like the Roman Empire, like the British Empire, like the Soviet Union)?

[bellinisurge]

@PinoNoir, interesting you think better education = wealth. I'll tell my bank.😂😂😂😂😂

[MeganBacon]

I'm not sure that wealthy people really are more likely to want Brexit than poor people, but if that is true, I would guess the financial cushion they hold against near term pain allows them to be more far sighted. People who worry about making ends meet this month generally spend less time contemplating nebulous horizon benefits in five or ten years.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Maybe wealthier people are better educated and believe that like every other union of economically unequal states with ethnically diverse population, EU is doomed (like the Roman Empire, like the British Empire, like the Soviet Union)?

And the United States? One can hope.

[Jimjamjooney]

Thanks to those that have mentioned disaster capitalism. I dont know what this is but I will read about it to try and educate myself.

MeganBacon I'm not saying wealthy people are more likely to choose brexit. I'm asking about the reasons (of the wealthy brexiteers) behind supporting brexit. You mentioned about cushioning from any immediate downturn. This is true, but what are the long term gains that they are envisioning?

bellinisurge the good old I'm alright Jack

[Lilyrose90]

The wealthier people I know want to stay in the EU

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Disaster capitalism is interesting. From carpetbaggers in America to the Asian financial crisis where there a theory that currency speculators hastened the crash.

If you have the resources to buy in crisis and wait out issues, speculate on necessities and don't give a tiny crap about your fellow humans, it's a great time to be alive! Profiteering is alive and well.

[CherryPavlova]

I think there’s a difference between the very, very rich (who may well have voted leave) and the quite rich who were the intelligentsia decried by Farage. They ‘typically north London set’ were generally remain.

Around here farmers voted leave because they’ve been promised less regulation and ongoing subsidies.
Very, very rich aren’t bothered about the pound crashing; their capital is held abroad and they can profit from others losses. They are mortgage free. They have numerous houses here and in Europe.
The quite well off generally voted remain, didn’t they?

[MrsTerryPratchett]

The wealthy people I know who voted remain are variously retired and wealthy enough to ride it out (their children are livid), super racist and hate Europeans (although I understand from threads here that those people don't exist, except at my family events) and that's it.

Racist or old and wealthy enough not to have to face a single consequence.

[MeganBacon]

@Jimjamjourney Well certainly there are no short term gains so any gains a Leaver envisages (rich or poor) can only be longer term - the further out into the future you look, the wider the range of possible outcomes. The well off people I know (I don't know really wealthy, just people with successful careers and good all round skill sets) do believe they are building a better future for their kids and the country by voting leave, they are not disaster capitalists voting for selfish reasons. They are mostly bankers/bank directors/a few directors of non-bank corporates, many taken early retirement (some of these are Europeans resident in Europe who didn't have a vote), who are concerned about the future of Europe and the EU. I voted remain and thought the short term risks to UK trade were greater than the longer term risks of being close to the EU, but they thought otherwise.

[Jimjamjooney]

MeganBacon The people I'm thinking of are similar to those you mentioned. I've read different soundbites as to some of the problems about remaining in the EU so I have a vague idea, but did any of your friends give you specifics as to what they think will improve after the initial crash?

Not being goady, I'm lucky that my job should remain stable and I should be able to survive any downturn, but I'm trying to understand what long term benefits there might be.

[Jimjamjooney]

For example with banker types, avoiding new EU legislation may make it easier to conduct business. However if we're tanking , surely there won't be many wanting to conduct business here (very simplistic obviously). I guess there's still the super wealthy who hedge fund in the UK and they'd still need services?

[MintChocAddict]

I agree with your observation OP as the wealthier people I know are much more relaxed about a no deal Brexit.
They have far less to lose and can buy themselves out of trouble if need be. And in some cases would probably benefit financially. It's the old looking after number one I'm afraid.

[Sashkin]

1. There's a lot of money to be made shorting the pound/buying up cheap UK assets in the ensuing fire sale.
   

1. There people often have their money in overseas tax havens so make no difference to them if our economy tanks. They are independently wealthy so no job loss worries.
   

1. Post Brexit they are hoping to get rid of a lot of EU worker protections - for example I live in Canada and we get two weeks of annual leave, no paid sick leave, and no paid maternity pay. Some people get more, but it is down to individual employer benevolence. So if you are an employer you could save a lot of money in your wage bill. Potential employees are also likely to be pretty desperate post-Brexit, and will take whatever they are given.
   

1. A lot of politicians have talked about turning the UK into a tax haven “like Singapore” - ie a haven for money laundering and tax evasion, with an underclass of absolutely desperate semi-slave workers in the hinterlands. Again, if you look at the super-rich in Singapore (Crazy Rich Asians), you can see why this appeals to the rich over here.
   

1. Best yet, I met an elderly posh Hampstead patient (post-ref, pre- me moving to Canada) who thought Brexit would mean his careers were a) not foreign, and b) not “common” - basically he was hoping that nice middle class women would be so impoverished and desperate for money that they would be happy to accept a min wage zero-hours contract. He specifically said he’d rather his careers were university-educated. So basically some rich people are after a better class of staff, they want to eradicate the middle classes and have us return to being their serfs.
   

Obviously nobody holds all of those views simultaneously, but the gist is that the upper class think we’re too uppity and need to be taught to know our places. Think 19th century mill workers.

[MeganBacon]

Jimjamjooney. No-one mentioned anything about different legislation. We had a big meet up about six weeks ago over a weekend and the conversations were all about what's wrong with the EU and avoiding the bad things that might happen, with nothing really said at all about any good things that might happen. No-one had an eye on personally making any money.

[Tengel]

Brexit has already happened for many people running large businesses.

No deal plans and contingencies we're ready in March and they've prepared for new ways of working since 2016.

This is why they are relaxed. Many know it won't affect them or be negative at all.

The City, Banks, large industrial companies, investors and others are all ready,

The problem lies with the politicians whose delay and chaotic management of the process has sapped confidence, the problem is not brexit itself.