Yours Discreetly, Switzerland

by Oculus Helveticus

Switzerland boasts about being a role model in terms of environmental respect. Indeed, its nature and flora can be admired thanks to their recycling system where every piece of litter is triaged with utter care and a Germanic obsessional rigor. However, this extreme devotion to rules stands as an ironic counterpoint to its flexibility when it comes to managing the opaque fortunes that rest in its banks. So, while ETHZ and EPFL can teach you how to compost with precision, they won’t be offering courses on where the money parked in Swiss banks really comes from anytime soon.

But beyond the anecdote lies a deep structural issue. Billionaires are multiplying, and wealth is concentrating in fewer and fewer hands, raising the question of whether there should be a limit to wealth accumulation. What happens when a nation's economic system is built around making that very accumulation easier, quieter, and entirely legal? In this essay, we will explore the role that Switzerland plays in facilitating extreme wealth concentration and examine how this role fails to align with the ethical principles of limitarianism, a theory that calls for capping excessive individual wealth in the name of social justice.

Why Switzerland? A Safe Haven for Your Money, Your Secrets, and Controversial Figures

Switzerland’s legal and financial system has long been attractive to the global elite. The Swiss banking secrecy system, codified in 1934 in the Federal Act on Banks and Savings Banks, became widely debated in financial circles. It was primarily designed to shield clients from foreign scrutiny though Swiss banks have been required to report suspicious activity since the 1997 anti-money laundering law (Conseil fédéral Suisse, n.d.). This system has historically benefited controversial actors, including, according to the Bergier Report (Independent Commission of Experts Switzerland – Second World War, 2002), some Nazi collaborators, as well as modern-day billionaires. More recently, international pressure has pushed Switzerland to loosen this secrecy. For example, there has been increased cooperation with foreign tax authorities, which was not the case before, and partial access to registers on some offshore structures (Conseil fédéral Suisse, n.d.). But for the ultra-rich, this is just a small bump in the road.

Swiss banking secrecy is no longer absolute, but it hasn’t disappeared. It has simply become more selective, more sophisticated, and remains a powerful tool for those who know how to use it within legal boundaries. Swiss banks and fiduciaries now offer new, ultra-sophisticated tools to protect private fortunes. These include multi-layered trusts, which separate legal ownership from beneficial ownership, making it nearly impossible to identify who truly controls the assets. The Luanda Leaks (2020), an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), suggest how Isabel dos Santos, daughter of Angola’s former president, allegedly used a network of shell companies and offshore trusts to move hundreds of millions from Angolan public companies. Swiss media investigations (Tribune de Genève & Tages-Anzeiger, 2020) documented how Geneva-based entities facilitated these flows, including $140 million to a struggling Geneva jeweller through Maltese structures. These arrangements allegedly allowed dos Santos to deny legal ownership while retaining control through financial advisors in Geneva. The allegations remain unproven in Swiss courts. Offshore holdings and special purpose vehicles are also used for similar goals: keeping assets hidden, reducing taxes, or distancing oneself from risky or unethical deals (Unter, 2017). The Paradise Papers (2017) showed how Glencore, the Swiss commodities giant, allegedly used offshore entities in Bermuda and elsewhere to negotiate mining deals in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, where governance challenges have been documented by the World Bank. While legal, these structures reportedly allowed Glencore to distance itself from potentially controversial transactions while allegedly still profiting from them. Finally, optimised tax residency schemes are very common in Switzerland due to its federalist system. Each canton can set its own tax rates, which creates competition to attract wealthy individuals (Federal Tax Administration, 2021). For instance, founder of IKEA Ingvar Kamprad moved to canton Vaud and negotiated a “forfait fiscal”. This is a taxation system for foreigners, where the person is taxed based on their lifestyle expenses, not their real income or wealth. It’s legal, but it means billionaires can end up paying less tax than local professionals or small business owners (Solidarités Vaud, 2014). It’s quite a convenient deal but one that’s obviously inaccessible to the average citizen. All these tools are perfectly legal and that’s precisely the point. Legality here is less about justice and more about who holds the pen when the laws are written. These mechanisms don’t break any rules; they are the rules, carefully shaped to let those with money and influence avoid every obstacle. Taxes, redistribution and accountability are charming concepts for the rest of us, but for the ultra-rich, they’re inconvenient obstacles, easily avoided with the help of highly paid specialists.

Beyond banking secrecy, Switzerland’s economic stability plays a decisive role in attracting private and corporate wealth. The country enjoys one of the most resilient economies in the world. It maintains low inflation, low unemployment rates, and consistently ranks among the countries with the highest GDP per capita. This macroeconomic discipline is reinforced by a conservative fiscal policy, limited public debt, and a strong emphasis on long-term planning rather than short-term political interests (OECD, 2023). The Swiss franc (CHF) is internationally recognised as a “safe haven” currency, particularly during periods of global economic instability. During the 2008 financial crisis and again during the COVID-19 pandemic, investors turned to the Swiss franc as a store of value, which further increased trust in the country’s financial system. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) also plays a stabilising role, carefully balancing monetary policy to avoid volatility and ensure predictable outcomes for investors and institutions. This stability translates into very concrete advantages for those with capital to protect (Avaro, 2021). Large multinational corporations, such as Nestlé (headquartered in Vevey), or Roche and Novartis (based in Basel), benefit from Switzerland’s world-class infrastructure, efficient transport networks, reliable public services, and skilled multilingual workforce. The predictability of the system enables them to operate with minimal disruption and focus on long-term growth strategies (Davis Plüss, 2018). On a more individual scale, the luxury real estate market also reflects the appeal of economic stability. Wealthy foreign nationals purchase properties in prestigious areas like Cologny, Gstaad, or Zermatt, not merely for lifestyle or leisure, but as part of a calculated strategy to anchor their wealth in a secure environment. These real estate investments are often combined with discreet residency strategies or asset structuring plans (Allen, 2024). In essence, what they are buying is not just a chalet with a view but a form of insurance against political and financial chaos elsewhere.

Equally vital to its appeal is Switzerland’s long-established political stability. Unlike more volatile systems, Switzerland operates under a unique combination of direct democracy, federalism, and a consensus-oriented political culture, all of which work to ensure continuity in policymaking. Sudden shifts in legislation or abrupt political decisions are rare. Instead, the Swiss political process is slow, deliberate, and highly consultative designed for predictability and trust. At the national level, power is fragmented among the executive (Federal Council), the parliament, and the cantons, each with clearly defined roles. This federal structure allows local jurisdictions to adapt laws to local preferences, while the national framework provides overall coherence and legal security. The use of referendums (a hallmark of Swiss governance) gives citizens the power to approve or reject legislative proposals, further protecting the political system from abrupt top-down decisions. The result is a highly stable environment, where changes are negotiated slowly, and business interests can plan with confidence. Neutrality also plays a central role in Switzerland’s political posture. Its refusal to engage in military alliances or international conflicts reinforces the perception of Switzerland as politically safe and non-aligned. This is particularly attractive for politically exposed persons or investors from unstable regions, who seek a place where their presence is unlikely to become entangled in geopolitical tensions (UBS, n.d). This institutional caution has clear effects in practice. For example, despite years of international pressure regarding banking secrecy and financial transparency Swiss authorities have only gradually and partially reformed their banking laws. These changes were made with careful consultation and significant delay, ensuring that the interests of the financial sector and its clients were preserved (Emmenegger, 2014). This signals to wealthy individuals and institutions that Switzerland protects its economic model and won’t sacrifice their interests lightly.

But let’s not pretend this is all a coincidence. Switzerland’s economic and political stability forms the perfect backdrop for an elite ecosystem where wealth and power coexist comfortably, often without scrutiny. In Geneva, financial advisors, UN diplomats, lawyers, and oligarchs don’t just operate in the same city, they frequent the same exclusive venues. They dine at Le Lion d’Or, vacation in Verbier, live in the same upscale neighbourhoods of Cologny and Champel, and send their children to the same private international schools like the Institut Florimont or the International School of Geneva. This is a closed circuit of influence where financial opacity and humanitarian ideals are not in contradiction, but are daily realities of the same environment. And because so many actors including bankers, lawyers, real estate agents, and even academic consultants depend on this system for their livelihood, there is little appetite for reform (Michel, 2024).

Switzerland’s Role in Cementing Inequality Without Limits

From the point of view of limitarianism, this situation is deeply problematic. Ingrid Robeyns (2024), who is the philosopher behind this theory, explains that extreme wealth must be limited because it is not only unnecessary for individual well-being, but also dangerous for democracy and social fairness. The idea is that when a small number of people accumulate too much wealth, it creates imbalances that harm society as a whole. Switzerland, by refusing to impose any real limits on wealth preservation and concentration, becomes an example of how liberal democracies can contradict their own ethical values in practice. It shows how national interests and economic benefits can quietly undermine efforts for global social justice.

In recent years, Switzerland has been under growing international pressure to reform its financial system. Initiatives like the OECD’s Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) have pushed the country to increase transparency. High-profile scandals such as the Paradise Papers and Luanda Leaks revealed how the very rich use Swiss institutions to hide and protect their assets (Michel, 2024). However, despite these exposures and public commitments, reforms have remained very limited and incomplete. Regulations require banks to perform due diligence, but enforcement is often weak and inconsistent. Meanwhile, financial structures continue to evolve, cleverly exploiting legal loopholes and differences in international regulations (Emmenegger, 2014). In reality, Switzerland’s toolkit for wealth preservation has not disappeared; it has only become more sophisticated and less visible but remains very effective.

This situation poses a fundamental ethical question: can a country claim to uphold democratic values while acting as a facilitator for global inequality? From the limitarian perspective (Robeyns, 2024), Switzerland is not simply neutral. It is actively complicit. By offering financial and legal services that allow the ultra-wealthy to increase and protect their power, it contributes to a world where wealth reproduces itself endlessly, and social mobility for the less privileged becomes nearly impossible. Could Switzerland move towards a more ethical model? Theoretically yes, but practically it would require political courage and a profound change in priorities. Limitarian-inspired reforms could include setting ceilings on assets under management, introducing progressive wealth taxes, or demanding full public disclosure of beneficiaries of trusts and similar structures. Such measures would directly challenge the foundations of the Swiss economy. When a significant part of the country’s GDP relies on managing the fortunes of the ultra-rich elite (Oliver Wyman, 2023), attacking that system is politically risky and economically inconvenient.

References

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