Image copyright ALAMY 摩納哥大約38,000位居民中超過30%是百萬富翁（圖片來源：Alamy）
想像一個袖珍國家——面積不足一平方英里（二平方公里）——擁有陽光普照的安靜街道，路上沒有狗糞，而且還不需要繳所得稅。賽車和遊艇是全民休閒活動，出門不是叫計程車，而是乘直升機。
再想像一下生活在那裡的人有三分之一是百萬富翁——很多還是千萬富翁。
事實上，這片小綠洲已經成為了百萬富翁的磁石，還有更多的人想來這裡的陽光海岸定居。因此，當地政府已經採取極端措施，批准建設海上人工島嶼來安置他們。
聽上去也許匪夷所思，但是在法國蔚藍海岸風景如畫的懸崖峭壁之上，這樣的地方的確存在。
這就是小小的摩納哥公國——全世界的百萬富翁中心，擁有最高的人均百萬富翁數量。
如果你駕車沿著法國地中海海岸行駛，可以瞥見茂盛的柏樹之中掩映著被太陽傘點綴的卵石海灘。
然後高聳的混凝土建築突然從沉睡的海濱冒了出來。當你看到閃爍的摩天大樓，呼嘯而過的布加迪（Bugatti）和聞名世界的賭場，你就會明白自己已經身處摩納哥城邦。
摩納哥是全世界人口密度最高的國家，而且又是全球超級富豪的遊樂場，這裡房產的需求特別高。
但是吸引這些買家的並不只是美麗的海景：這個袖珍公國還是避稅天堂。
財富諮詢公司財富透視（WealthInsights）總裁奧利弗·威廉士（Oliver Williams）分析了全球財富的轉移數據，指出人們出於經濟原因而移民摩納哥並不是什麼秘密。
“這裡不徵收所得稅，大部分業務在摩納哥的企業也不需要繳納企業增值稅，因此我們發現稅收是人們移民到這裡的主要原因。另外就是簡單的生活方式。”他說。
根據威廉士的研究，摩納哥大約38,000位居民中超過30%是百萬富翁。”其後是一些瑞士城市，例如日內瓦和蘇黎世等等，”他說。
這一數字的上升趨勢可以預見。根據萊坊（Knight Frank）房地產經紀公司的分析，未來10年，將有16,100名百萬富翁或千萬富翁希望在這個小國家為自己購置一小塊地，但是目前他們無法做到，因為這裡已經沒有多餘的空間。
萊坊的研究顯示，摩納哥的房價排名全球市場第一，大約在每平方米53,000歐元（67,000美元）至100,000歐元（142,000美元）之間。
Image copyright VALODE & PISTRE 水上建築項目泊泰灣的建築效果圖（圖片來源：Valode & Pistre）
這座城邦正在擴建
占地僅為0.78平方英里（2.02平方公里）的摩納哥人滿為患，它是全世界第二小的國家（排在梵蒂岡之後），現有的建築物空間已經利用到了極限，山坡上挖出空地建房，高樓層建築增加住房空間，甚至在地下挖通道。
因此，為了嘗試滿足這些新超級富豪一族的需求，現任統治者阿貝爾二世親王（Prince Albert II）已經同意了雄心勃勃的填海項目。
Image copyright GETTY IMAGES摩納哥的執政君主阿貝爾二世親王正在尋求平衡全國百萬富翁住房的同時將環境破壞降到最低的方式（圖片來源：Getty）
摩納哥政府正在審查這一項目，私人金融家將為其建設投資並出售房地產。
價值15億歐元（21億美元）的離岸城市擴展項目到2026年將為該國新增15英畝的陸地。泊泰灣（Portier Cove）將包含一個足以容納30艘遊艇的港口，一個景觀公園和計劃容納120個家庭的豪華住宅區。
但是項目的建設需要付出卓絕的努力：將混凝土填充的大型水密艙，又稱為”沉箱”的東西放入海里，然後抽干附近區域的海水並填入運自西西里島的砂石，以此來創造一個從海濱突出的人工陸地。
而如此大規模的擴建工程不是沒有代價的。儘管法國建築公司Bouygues Travaux Publiques正在計劃將建築工地的海洋動植物轉移到其他保護區域並創建了一個3D列印的人工暗礁作為開發的一部分，但是項目仍然存在著風險。
海洋專家建議無論填海工作的進行如何小心謹慎，破壞海洋來建設人工島嶼的做法都會對自然環境和海洋生物造成直接影響。
據估計，生活在水裡的數百種海藻和數千種海洋生物將被乾涸的土地所取代。環保主義者警告稱，在如此大規模的離岸項目面前，沒有任何辦法能完全保護海洋脆弱的生物多樣性。
填海對於摩納哥來說並不新鮮——自1861年以來該國的領土已經擴展了20%——但是如今似乎深海都已無法滿足土地的需求。
雖然關注生態的親王——其本人駕駛電動車並已通過其基金會向環境問題捐贈數百萬元——堅持為他的國家擴展領土，但是如今也必須認真考慮由此帶來的環境問題。
泊泰灣的特殊困難在於建築商需要滿足城市可持續發展國際認證，包括《HQE Aménagement》、《建築研究院環境評估方法》標準和《清潔港口》標記。
人們希望該項目能成為其他意欲擴充領土的國家可以效仿的典型案例。
The Country Running Out Of Space For Its Millionaires
By Katie Beck
6 February 2018
Imagine a pint-sized country – less than a square mile in size (2 square kilometres) – with sun-drenched, quiet streets, no dog poo and no income tax to pay. A place where motor racing and yachting are the national pastimes and people hop into a helicopter to get from A to B instead of hailing a taxi.
Now imagine that one in three of the people who live there are millionaires – often many times over.
This little oasis has, in fact, become such a magnet for millionaires that many more want to relocate to its sunny shores. So, the local authorities have taken the radical step of allowing the construction of artificial islands out across the sea to house them all.
An estimated 2,700 more millionaires are hoping to claim a piece of this diminutive country for themselves in the next 10 years
Sounds too bizarre to be true, but perched on the picturesque cliff tops of the French Riviera, such an odd place does exist.
It’s the tiny principality of Monaco – millionaire hub of the world, with the highest number of millionaires per capita.
If you drive along the Mediterranean coast of France, glimpses of pebbly beaches dotted with sun-bleached umbrellas poke though the cypress trees.
Then out of nowhere towering, concrete buildings emerge from an otherwise sleepy seafront. When you spot shimmering skyscrapers, Bugattis whizzing past and a world-famous casino, you know you』ve arrived in the city-state of Monaco.
House prices in Monaco now top the world market with prices between €53,000 ($67,000) and €100,000 ($142,000) per square metre
With the highest population density of any country in the world, and reputation as a playground for the world’s super rich, demand for property here has soared.
Over 30% of the roughly 38,000 residents of Monaco are millionaires (Credit: Alamy)
But it’s not just sea views these buyers are drawn to: this pocket-sized principality is also a tax haven.
Oliver Williams, head of wealth consultancy firm WealthInsights, analyses statistics describing the movement of wealth globally, and points out that it’s no secret that people move to Monaco for financial reasons.
「It’s got no income tax and no corporation tax for businesses doing most of their work in Monaco, so tax is the main reason we found for people wanting to move here. The other thing is simply lifestyle,」 he says.
There will be 16,100 millionaires or multimillionaires in Monaco by 2026
Over 30% of the roughly 38,000 residents of Monaco are millionaires, according to Williams』 research. 「Next down the list are some Swiss cities like Geneva and Zurich and so on,」 he says.
That number is forecast to rise. According to Knight Frank property agency’s analysis, there will be 16,100 millionaires or multimillionaires hoping to claim a piece of this diminutive country for themselves in the next 10 years, but at the moment they can』t. There’s no more room.
Research from Knight Frank show house prices in Monaco now top the world market with prices between €53,000 ($67,000) and €100,000 ($142,000) per square metre.
Architect rendering of the Portier Cove building site filled with water (Credit: Valode & Pistre)
The city-state is building an extension
Measuring just 0.78 square miles (2.02 square kilometres) Monaco is crowded, it’s the second smallest country in the world (after Vatican City) and existing building space has already been stretched to the limit by carving homes into the mountainsides, building up into the sky and even tunnelling down into the ground.
So, in a bid to try and cater to the demands of this new super rich tribe, the current ruler, Prince Albert II, has agreed an ambitious land reclamation project.
Prince Albert II, reigning monarch of Monaco, is devising ways to balance housing all the country’s millionaires but also minimise environmental disruption (Credit: Getty)
The government of Monaco is overseeing the project and private financiers are paying for the build and will sell the real estate.
The £1.5 billion ($2.1 billion) Offshore Urban Extension Project will add 15 acres of landmass to the principality by 2026. Portier Cove, will include a harbour big enough for 30 ships, a landscaped park and luxury residential buildings with plans for 120 new homes.
But the construction involves a Herculean effort: putting large concrete-filled watertight chambers, called caissons, into the sea, then draining the water from the surrounding area and filling it in with sand imported from Sicily to create an artificial landmass jutting out from the seafront.
The £1.5 billion ($2.1 billion) Offshore Urban Extension Project will add 15 acres of landmass to the principality by 2026
And expansion on this scale doesn』t come without costs. Although French construction firm, Bouygues Travaux Publiques, are planning to relocate marine flora and fauna from the building site to other protected areas and creating a 3D-printed artificial reef as part of the development, there are still risks.
Marine experts suggest that no matter how carefully you carry out land reclamation, disrupting the sea to build artificial islands will have a direct impact on natural surroundings and marine life.
It is estimated that hundreds of types of algae and thousands of marine organisms live in the waters that will be replaced by dry land. Environmentalists warn that there is no way to fully protect the area’s fragile biodiversity in the face of such a large-scale offshore project.
The principality has expanded by 20% since 1861
Land reclamation is nothing new to Monaco – the principality has already expanded its territory by 20% since 1861 – but now even the deep ocean seems no match for property demand.
Still the eco-conscious prince – who drives an electric car and has donated millions through his foundation to environmental causes – is adamant further land expansion in his country must now be carefully weighed up against environmental concerns.
The unique challenge for Portier Cove is that the builders are being asked to meet international sustainable urban development certifications including the HQE Aménagement, Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method standard and the Clean Ports label.
It is hoped the project will become a flagship example that other growing countries will look to follow.