President Donald Trump, in his recent interview with Fox News, claimed that his proposed $5 million Gold Card, offering permanent residency and a pathway to U.S. citizenship, could revolutionize America’s economy by attracting millions of wealthy immigrants.

Trump argues that the initiative could potentially attract one million buyers, raising $5 trillion, or even ten million buyers, generating an astonishing $50 trillion. Such bold claims have sparked intense debate regarding both their feasibility and broader implications.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick supported Trump’s ambitious projection by suggesting globally around 37 million individuals possess sufficient wealth to purchase such an expensive visa.

However, this number has generated considerable skepticism among financial analysts. According to the 2023 World Wealth Report published by Capgemini, the global count of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs)—those with assets exceeding $30 million—stands at approximately 392,410.

Given this, Lutnick’s projection appears highly optimistic, significantly exceeding the actual number of individuals likely willing and financially able to invest $5 million in U.S. residency.

Trump’s assertion of attracting ten million investors, thus collecting $50 trillion, also appears unrealistic when juxtaposed with global economic statistics.

For perspective, global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was approximately $105 trillion in 2023. Expecting nearly half of the world’s total economic output to flow into purchasing residency visas is improbable by most economic assessments.

Nevertheless, Lutnick reported an encouraging initial response, stating that a remarkable 1,000 Gold Cards, amounting to $5 billion, were sold within the first day alone.

Such early success suggests strong initial interest from wealthy individuals worldwide. Yet, questions........

© Business Recorder