Weekly Reading

Full analysis · August 9, 2026

Costa Rica enters the global wealth mobility conversation

The Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2026 placed Costa Rica 15th globally, naming it one of three Latin American jurisdictions in its dedicated Policy Spotlight, alongside Panama and Uruguay. A score of 70.2 out of 100 puts the country among a small group considered structurally competitive for internationally mobile capital. This is not a marketing claim, it is the same reference point global family offices and residency planners use to benchmark where capital is choosing to move, and why.

Source: Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2026 — henleyglobal.com/newsroom/press-releases/henley-private-wealth-migration-report-2026

The buyer the financial press is calling "quiet rich"

A buyer profile is redefining the high-standard segment in the United States: wealth built quietly, in private businesses and long-held investment portfolios rather than visible inheritance. This buyer applies the same capital discipline to a second home that built their wealth in the first place. Paying in full for a property used a few weeks a year stops making sense under that logic, which is driving co-ownership structures as an alternative to traditional purchase.

Source: The Wall Street Journal analysis, via Inman — inman.com/2026/07/20/the-quiet-rich-are-rewriting-luxury-second-home-demand-heres-what-agents-should-know

Why nearly half of these purchases are paid in cash

In the high-standard US segment, close to half of transactions above five million dollars close without financing. Global household wealth reached a record high in 2025, yet nearly sixty percent of that growth was valuation gain on existing assets, mostly equities, not new real investment. Wealth concentrated in a stock market at record highs is, by definition, less diversified wealth. Converting part of that gain into a real asset, in a stable jurisdiction, stops being an aesthetic preference and becomes a risk management decision.

Source: McKinsey Global Institute, The Global Balance Sheet 2026 — mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/the-global-balance-sheet-2026-imbalance-and-divergence

The pattern holds everywhere. Those with the capital to choose are choosing with more care than ever. If this matches your situation, let's talk.

Jessica Baan Nessi
Strategic Real Estate & Wellness Infrastructure Advisor, Costa Rica
jb@jessicabaan.com