Record real estate sales, rising migration by wealthy individuals and growing interest from family offices are helping to strengthen the Cayman Islands’ position as a global wealth centre.
Local property market data shows that Cayman’s real estate sector set a new all-time record in 2025, with total sales exceeding US$1.086 billion, across 858 transactions, according to the Cayman Islands Real Estate Brokers Association. In the fourth quarter of 2025 alone, completed sales reached 195 transactions worth approximately US$268.2 million, while the average sale price per property rose to about US$1.37 million, reflecting stronger sales of higher-value residential properties, ahead of anticipated changes to stamp duty thresholds.
Luxury property sales have increased as the Cayman Islands has experienced a substantial 62% increase in its resident millionaire population between 2014 and 2024, according to Henley & Partners data. This growth substantially outpaces many established wealth centres and reflects the jurisdiction’s appeal to high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) drawn by its tax-neutral environment, political stability, quality of life, and sophisticated financial services infrastructure. Henley & Partners estimates Cayman is now home to around 6,800 millionaires, 102 centi-millionaires and 12 billionaires.
More than four in ten (41%) wealth management professionals globally forecast that the Cayman Islands will see the fastest family office growth of any jurisdiction over the next three years, according to research from Ocorian. The survey, which canvassed more than 300 family office professionals collectively responsible for US$155 billion in assets under management, placed Cayman second only to Singapore among jurisdictions most likely to benefit from increasing global wealth and ranked it as the first choice for European HNWIs seeking offshore structuring solutions.
Brittany MacVicar, Associate Director for Trust and Private Wealth at Cayman Finance, said: “These figures paint a compelling picture of the Cayman Islands’ stature as a global wealth hub. Record property sales, significant growth in our high-net-worth population, and the confidence of wealth professionals in Cayman’s family office sector all point in the same direction.”
She said: “Given the increasing desire among high-net-worth individuals for the kind of political certainty and financial stability the Cayman Islands has consistently offered, 2026 looks set to be a landmark year for our wealth and trust sector. Cayman’s combination of a tax-neutral environment, excellent professional services, robust governance, and an exceptional quality of life continues to distinguish it as the destination of choice for the world’s high-net-worth investors.”
The Cayman Islands is already the world’s dominant offshore funds domicile. It is home to more than 30,000 investment funds, according to data from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), including 17,722 private funds. Private fund registrations have grown by 40% since 2020, and Cayman funds account for more than half (53.6%) of qualifying hedge fund net assets reported to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
As a result, Cayman has a deep pool of accounting firms, law firms, trust companies, corporate services providers, investment advisors, asset managers and international banks. The strong focus on modern, continuously updated financial services legislation provides family offices with flexible structuring options such as STAR trusts or foundation companies. These offer a range of succession, wealth planning and philanthropic solutions for individuals and families.
Cayman trusts are based on English law, but certain variations have made them more flexible. Cayman’s STAR trust differs from ordinary trusts as it can be employed for “non-charitable purposes” rather than purely for beneficiaries. This opens up a variety of applications. For instance, a STAR (special trust alternative regime) trust can be employed to own and operate a business, to hold assets or for estate planning. Foundation companies, as an alternative, combine elements of both trusts and companies. A foundation company is not required to have members or shareholders. It allows distributions to beneficiaries or others, and has become a popular structure for succession planning, wealth management and philanthropy.
Heightened geopolitical uncertainty is reshaping global wealth migration patterns, with potential significant implications for Cayman in 2026. A surge in geopolitical instability, as well as increasing calls for new wealth taxes in some parts of the US and Europe, could prompt high-net-worth individuals and family offices to reassess their base of operations. The Cayman Islands, with its established financial services ecosystem, political and economic stability, tax-neutral framework, and proximity to the US, could be set to capture a share of wealth flows redirected from other regions.
