Rich Americans Scrambling To Buy 'Golden Passports' To Second Country

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Wealthy Americans are rushing to secure second passports, as a growing club of individuals have begun participating in government programs abroad which allow foreigners to acquire them, according to Bloomberg.

Eric Schmidt acquired all the typical trappings of a mega-rich U.S. citizen: a superyacht, a Gulfstream jet, a Manhattan penthouse.

One of his newest assets is far less conventional: a second passport.

Alphabet Inc.’s former chief executive officer applied to become a citizen of Cyprus, according to an announcement last month in a Cypriot newspaper that was first reported by the website Recode. -Bloomberg

According to the report, Americans rarely sought to buy so-called 'golden passports' in prior years, with such programs historically appealing to people from countries with far fewer travel freedoms than the United States - such as China, Pakistan and Nigeria

"We haven’t seen the likes of this before," said Paddy Blewer, a London-based citizenship and residency advisory director at Henley & Partners. "The dam actually burst -- and we didn’t realize it -- at the end of last year, and it’s just continued getting stronger."

A second passport can be had for as 'little' as $100,000 - and include potential benefits such as lower taxes, greater investment freedom, and hassle-free travel.