thatfamouslycharges
noincometax,making
itahandyhomefrom
homeforthesuper-rich.
Ifyou’rehoping to
jointhem, youcould
takeyourchanceatthe
famousMonte Carlo
Casino.It wasoriginally
dreamedupmorethan
a centuryanda halfago
asa revenuestreamfor
theruling House of
Grimaldi,which was
facingbankruptcyat
thetime.
Sincethen,ithas becomethe
premiersymbolofMonaco’swealth
andglamour,andhasfeaturedin
twoJamesBondfilms.Itstillpro-
videsasignificantrevenuestream
forthecurrentGrimaldiruler,Prince
AlbertII,andhisZimbabwean-born
wife,PrincessCharlene,whofor-
merlyrepresentedSouthAfricaas
anOlympicswimmer.
Theprincipalityisofcoursealso
famousfortheMonacoGrandPrix.
Itstightcornersledformerdriver
NelsonPiquettocompareit to“riding
a bicyclearoundyourlivingroom”.
EachyearaglobalaudienceofTV
viewerstunesintoseethecarswhiz-
zingthroughthestreetsasbillion-
airesgambolontheirsuperyachts
mooredintheharbour.
TOURISTAPPEAL:seehowtherich
live– andwatchtherouletteaction at
the Belle Époque-style casino. PHOTOS: REUTERS/ERIC GALLARD; DABOOST/SHUTTERSTOCKMONACO
AREA:2.02sqkm
POPULATION:around39,000T
heypackthelocalsintightlyin
Monaco.Withmorethan19,000
inhabitantspersquarekilo-
metre,thisisthemostdenselypopu-
latedsovereignstateintheworld.But
thatdoesn’tseemtohaveanyadverse
effects onthe Monégasques (as
inhabitantsarecalled):theyhavethe
world’slongestlifeexpectancy,atjust
shyof90.
Nearlya thirdofthepopulationare
saidtobemillionaires in a countryMonaco’sCasino,
playgroundofthesuper-
rich – and James Bond102 March 2020