Joined April 2017
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- Following 166
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8 Photos and videos
Financial sovereignty is a growing concern for high-earners. If the system you operate within no longer aligns with your contributions or long-term goals, it may be time to evaluate your alternatives.
#financialsovereignty #globalmobility
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Wealth generation is severely hampered in Canada.
$400K income. Canada vs Panama, side by side. The numbers in the infographic:
→ Net retained after tax
→ Real estate cost — downtown / city center
→ Healthcare access time to a family doctor
→ Weather
→ Flight time to NYC
→ Permanent residency cost
→ Top marginal rate
I legally have not paid tax since 2017.
What that means in practice: every dollar of operating profit my businesses generate compounds for me.
I'm based in Panama. From here, I'm 2.5 hours from Miami, 5 hours direct from Toronto, and 7.5 hours from San Francisco. Same time zone as New York. The airport is more modern than JFK (in my opinion).
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Y Combinator stopped funding Canadian-incorporated startups.
This is public record. The receipts are on YC's site.
And a lot of this has to do with the Canadian Government.
The numbers don't lie:
→ GDP per capita has DECLINED in Canada 2014-2024 while the US has grown
→ Top marginal rate now over 53% in most provinces, kicking in around $160 USD-equivalent. US federal tops out at 37% around $500 -600K USD.
→ Average Toronto home: $1.6M for a basic three-bedroom
→ Canadian dollar trades at ~30% discount to USD
In essence you earn less, in a weaker currency, taxed harder, in a more expensive city
I'm Canadian. Most of my family is still there and I visit 2-3 times a year.
But the math on staying for a driven entrepreneur does not add up. The smart Canadians are running the same exit playbook I ran in 2017.
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If you want to start a company outside of Canada, or leave Canada for economic freedom join my webinar tomorrow to understand what options you have: eventbrite.com/e/19892986688…
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The Canadian government takes 53.53% of every dollar you earn above $235K in Ontario.
Then charges you GST on what you spend with the rest.
Then taxes your capital gains when you try to build wealth.
I left a decade ago. Became a non-resident. Moved to Panama. Legally owe CRA nothing.
It was the single best financial decision of my life , and it wasn't close.
Most Canadians don't realize this is even an option. That's by design.
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You went to a good school. Got a good job. Did everything right.
And you still don't feel free.
Kevin Hong followed that exact path - Wall Street, VC-backed startups, scaled past $30M ARR. Then got ousted by his own investors. Went through bankruptcy. Lost control of what he built.
What he learned rebuilding from scratch: most career paths are designed to make you useful to someone else's system, not to make you free.
His take on why right now is the greatest time in history to build something on your own terms.
Kevin flew in from LA to film the latest episode of The Sovereign Entrepreneur Podcast at our studios in Panama City.
Full conversation 👇
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McKinsey runs 20,000 AI agents alongside 40,000 humans.
A litigation task that took an associate 16 hours now takes 4 minutes.
73% of consulting buyers say AI makes them more critical of what they're paying for.
The professional services pyramid is cracking.
I wrote about what that means for experienced professionals thinking about going independent.
open.substack.com/pub/sovrep…
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At 25, I left my investment banking job in Canada with no plan to come back.
Since then:
→ Built a cross-border tax advisory firm from Panama
→ Traveled to 70 countries and lived in a handful
→ Earned a Yale MBA, CFA, and ADIT
→ Helped dozens of high income individuals restructure their lives around jurisdictions, not borders
Your country is a variable. Not a constant.
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13 Jan 2025
Most people quit on the dream of financial freedom because building capital in the early days feel like pushing a boulder uphill.
But capital - whether knowledge, money, or relationships - follows a non-linear curve:
Year 1-3: Grind
Year 4-7: Small wins
Year 8 : Compound returns take over
The secret? There is no secret. Just consistent, thoughtful action.
The snowball builds silently until one day you wake up and realize it's rolling downhill on its own.
Trust the process. The returns will come.
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15 Nov 2024
The people you surround yourself with can make or break your spirit. Choose wisely.
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25 May 2024
You’re only young, hungry, and optimistic for a certain phase of life.
Use that energy to do things you won’t do later.
Whether building the business, taking that sabbatical, doing that athletic feat…
Do it all before the worries and cynicism of life take over.
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22 Mar 2024
"Work well done provides dividends forever."
A younger version of myself aspired to the "move fast and break things" mantra
There is a place for speed in entrepreneurship.
But a good product, business, or piece of content will stand the test of time and compound.
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13 Mar 2024
New episode #6 releases this Friday at 5PM ET with @SBA_Matthias
Very pumped for this one
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16 Jan 2024
How many more headlines of job cuts at the biggest institutions in finance, tech, consulting etc. do we need to see before we realize that the economy is structurally changing?
Inflation / economic cycle is a minor excuse.
An MBA is not a guarantee to success anymore.
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