Chris Rokos plans Greece move as UK tax debate intensifies

Chris Rokos plans to move his tax residency to Greece, according to people familiar with the arrangement, adding pressure on the UK wealth-tax debate.

The founder of Rokos Capital Management is also expected to open an Athens office as part of the shift, one of the people said. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the arrangement has not been made public.

Rokos Capital Management manages about $22 billion, a scale that makes the move relevant beyond one financier’s personal tax affairs. A representative for Rokos Capital declined to comment.

Athens office accompanies residency shift

Greece has offered a flat annual tax of €100,000 ($116,240) on overseas income for some foreign residents, compared with ordinary taxation on qualifying global earnings in many countries. That structure has made Athens more competitive for wealthy individuals seeking a European base.

For Greece, the reported move would bring a high-profile macro investor into a market that has been courting foreign capital and internationally mobile professionals. For the UK, it adds another departure to a list of financiers and business leaders reconsidering residence after changes to wealth taxation.

£330 million taxpayer ranking

Rokos was placed third in a recent annual ranking of UK taxpayers, with an estimated £330 million ($447 million) bill. That ranking gives the case political weight because the UK tax base depends heavily on a small number of high earners.

The move follows the abolition of the UK’s long-running non-dom regime and higher taxes affecting private equity gains, inheritances and capital gains. Since Labour won the 2024 general election, policy has also targeted private school fees, family farms and business assets, while homes worth more than £2 million were brought into a new tax measure at the last budget.

Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey is preparing his first budget for October 28, with fiscal headroom narrower than it was in March. In a speech on Monday, Healey said he wanted Britain to be seen “as a country of wealth creation,” while pledging to ease burdens on business without promising tax cuts.

The budget test has become harder after a global bond selloff removed roughly half of the £23.6 billion buffer against the fiscal rules that existed in March. That arithmetic has renewed speculation about additional revenue measures affecting banks, oil companies and wealthy households.

London finance faces residency test

The immediate effect on Rokos Capital appears operational rather than strategic: an Athens office would give the firm a new European presence while its founder changes residency. The larger issue for London is whether tax policy alters where senior financiers choose to live, work and invest.

If more top taxpayers relocate, the UK could face weaker receipts from a concentrated group of individuals at the same time bond investors are focused on borrowing needs. In that scenario, Rokos Capital would gain a Greek base, while hedge funds and private capital firms would have more reason to treat tax residence as part of operating design.

If Healey’s budget instead reassures business without imposing heavier wealth levies, the UK may limit further exits and preserve more of London’s appeal as a financial center. The open question is whether the October 28 budget keeps enough revenue in place while convincing internationally mobile investors that the tax direction has stabilized.