MADRID THE NEW EUROPEAN CAPITAL | M6 | Enquête Exclusive

It now ranks ahead of Dubai, Miami, and Paris in the list of favorite cities for the ultra-rich: Madrid, the Spanish capital! Once considered conservative, uptight, and behind the times, Madrid took advantage of Catalonia’s failed attempt at independence in 2017, which scared off foreign entrepreneurs, to snap up 70% of their investments. Many of them are Latin American millionaires. Hotels, luxury apartments, tourist residences… they are buying en masse and reshaping the city’s landscape.

This is the case for Axel Capriles, originally from Venezuela, who in just a few years has become a key figure in Madrid’s high-end real estate market. Lucian, meanwhile, arrived from Romania ten years ago. Starting from nothing, he has managed to build an empire in the restaurant business. He is opening his sixth establishment, a trendy and extravagant venue in which he has invested more than two and a half million euros. As for Ary, a French student at IE, one of the world’s most famous business schools, he dreams of becoming the king of Madrid’s nightlife.

But this rapid economic development is not without its pitfalls.

Cannabis clubs, traditionally reserved for Spanish residents, are multiplying. And some are skirting the law to meet a rapidly growing tourist demand. We were able to film exclusively inside these usually impenetrable places.

The working classes would also like to get ahead. However, they are the first victims of the city’s transformation: rents have doubled in 10 years, impoverishment and, worse still, the purchase of buildings that are sometimes occupied… with eviction as a result.