🇧🇲 Bermuda

Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory of 64,000 people in the North Atlantic — not in the Caribbean as many assume, but 1,000 km east of the US coast. GDP is about $7.5 billion, giving it one of the highest per capita incomes in the world at over $115,000. The island is the world's reinsurance capital — about 15% of global reinsurance capacity is based here, and the sector contributes about 15% of GDP. Bermuda's pink sand beaches (colored by crushed coral) and pastel-colored houses are iconic. The "Bermuda Triangle" is a myth, but it's great for tourism marketing. The island has no income tax, no corporate tax, and no capital gains tax.

International business (reinsurance, insurance-linked securities, captive insurance) and tourism are the twin pillars. The US is the dominant source of both business and tourists. Bermuda's insurance market writes about $200 billion in annual premiums. Tourism has declined from its 1980s peak but still brings in about 800,000 visitors annually (including cruise passengers). The Bermuda dollar is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar. The cost of living is extraordinary — a gallon of milk costs about $10.

Bermuda is the shipwreck capital of the Atlantic — over 300 wrecks surround the island, making it one of the world's best wreck diving destinations. The island invented the Bermuda rig (the triangular sail used on most modern sailboats) and Bermuda shorts (which are formal business attire here — worn with blazers and knee socks). Bermuda has the oldest English-speaking settlement in the Americas — it was colonized in 1609 after a shipwreck.

Bermuda's reinsurance niche is highly profitable and hard to replicate. The territory is well-governed and wealthy, but the cost of living and housing affordability are pushing younger Bermudians to emigrate. Climate risk — ironically, for a reinsurance hub — is the long-term concern.