412: Dual Citizenship: Plan B?

The two most powerful motivations for behavior are fear and greed. If you haven’t thought about that before paying attention to the kinds of messaging you hear especially in the alternative asset podcast ecosystem?

At the risk of offending gold bugs, how many times have you heard someone who sells precious metals on a podcast talking about the demise of the United States and the inevitability of the Zombie apocalypse? Think that’s just a coincidence?

A couple of weeks ago, I had on a gentleman who wrote a book on Ray Dalio, the legendary hedge fund manager whose fund has not beaten the S&P 500 in years.

Turns out that Mr. Dalio has been predicting the collapse of the American economy for three decades now. Maybe he believes it. I don’t know. But one thing’s for sure, it works very well for Ray Dalio’s company.

Ultra Wealthy families don’t care about big returns. They care about not losing money. Beating the market is just an added plus. If Ray is telling people that the world is going to hell and he manages money then maybe he knows how to best protect it? That’s the logical conclusion, right?

There are also people out there talking about the need for a second passport in case the US implodes. After all, we have a divisive political system and enormous amounts of debt. 

Again, maybe I’m missing something, but the US is still the biggest economy in the world with by far the highest GDP. We have the best Universities in the world and the strongest military. And if we can get through 1968, we can get through 2024.

So, in my humble opinion, a plan B is not going to get you out of harm’s way. Because if the US goes down, there will be no place to hide.

But, there are certainly other reasons to get a second passport. Maybe you just want to make it easier to travel to certain countries. Maybe you want to benefit from the low cost of healthcare. Or, maybe you just want to diversify your wealth and mitigate currency risk. If you’re willing to move to Puerto Rico (which I am not), there is even a huge potential tax play.

My advice…whatever you do, just don’t get scared into it. It certainly sounds kind of fun to be a Jetsetter and maybe there is sound financial reason to do it as well. Consider it, but for rational reasons.

With all that being said, check out this week’s episode of Wealth Formula Podcast and learn the ins and outs of foreign citizenship. Let me know if you decide to do it!

Show Notes:

08:24 Why consider dual citizenship?

11:17 Benefits of an EU passport

12:48 A second passport for retirement and healthcare

13:54 Financial benefits of dual citizenship

17:10 The challenges

19:17 Dual citizenship by relationship