To put it by comparison: Monaco (the country) is a smaller than Central Park in NYC but their GDP per capita is around $256,000 while the USA it hovers at around $92,000. Like why does a European microstate that small have a higher GDP than a major super power? They don’t have income tax to be worried about (unless you are a French citizen).
Is it because everyone there is basically a millionaire or working in the tourism industry where their main clientele are basically elites who have left over cash? The country’s population is 38,500 (about half of San Clemente, CA) but even with a small population, do people in Monaco have a higher disposable income when you take it into account?
Tax haven and gambling…
Then also what you said about needing to be wealthy to live there.
It’s like if Manhattan and Vegas merged into one city-state.
Very small area where only the rich can afford to live inside the borders, and all the workers and tourists live outside the border. Because of that, individual taxes are very low, which makes citizenship even more desirable for the wealthy.
So overtime, it just keeps concentrating