The 100: Armand Arton, Founder and Chief Global Citizen, Arton Capital Through platforms such as the Global Citizen Forum, Arton continues to champion a future in which mobility is more inclusive, more secure, and increasingly digital - helping individuals, families, and nations navigate a rapidly changing world with confidence and purpose.

Armand Arton would tell you himself that he came from humble beginnings. Born of Armenian descent in Bulgaria, Armand's life has been shaped by migration. When he relocated to Morocco as a child, he saw the arduous visa processes and paperwork that travel required firsthand. This was to become the fuel behind his burning passion for breaking down borders and building consensus towards truly global mobility.

A visionary entrepreneur, immigration policy expert, and social impact pioneer, Armand's achievements speak for themselves. In 2006, Armand founded the world-leading residency and investment advisory firm Arton Capital. Arton Capital plays a central role in advising governments around the world and empowering High Net Worth Individuals to become global citizens. The company has the largest immigration services office in the region, from which Armand advises African and Middle Eastern clients, companies, and governments on migration and mobility.

Armand's career is driven by a revolutionary goal: to enable the global mobility of a billion people by 2035. As one reporter put it: Armand is the 'Robinhood of passports', looking to bring about a world in which borders and passports no longer act as hurdles to success. As part of this mission, he's acted as an advisor for Concordia, the World Economic Forum, and 13 governments around the world on their migration policy, as well as the structuring and implementation of investor immigration programmes.

His thought leadership continues to shape global discourse. In 2025, Arton Capital's 'Affluence & Elections' campaign - a groundbreaking survey project analysing how political cycles influence mobility and investor sentiment - earned major industry recognition. The campaign was Highly Commended for Best International Campaign at the CorpComms Awards 2025 and won Gold for Best Communication with Overseas Investors or Media at the Communicate Magazine Corporate & Financial Awards 2025. Celebrated for its data-driven storytelling and geopolitical insight, the project has become a key resource for policymakers, investors, and journalists seeking to understand the current landscape and future of global mobility.

This recognition marks yet another milestone for an industry leader who continues to set the pace in the investment migration sector. Earlier this year, Arton Capital partnered with the government of Grenada to launch a groundbreaking Citizenship by Invitation program - a transformative framework that awards citizenship based on an applicant's potential for social impact rather than the scale of their financial contribution. It's an approach that reflects a profound shift in how nations think about mobility, value, and global partnership, and has become a trendsetter that other countries and marketing agents have sought to replicate.

This year, Armand also played a central role in the launch of Botswana's pioneering new Impact Investment Program, developed in close collaboration with the Government of Botswana. Designed to drive economic diversification and reduce reliance on the diamond sector, the program channels investment directly into national priorities such as affordable housing and tourism development. Arton Capital helped shape the policy framework, financial governance, and impact-measurement model - ensuring the program is both globally competitive and socially transformative. It marks one of the most innovative mobility initiatives in Africa, reinforcing Botswana's ambition to become a rising hub for sustainable investment on the continent.

Armand remains committed to ensuring that host countries derive meaningful value from the capital generated through investment migration, while never losing sight of Arton Capital's core ethos: delivering exceptional client service. In November, Arton Capital became Dubai Sotheby's International Realty exclusive partner for citizenship and residency solutions – uniting HWNI planning for investment migration and luxury real estate under one trusted relationship.

Looking ahead, Arton Capital is preparing to launch the Global Citizen Club, a VIP mobility solutions & concierge program extended to a select group of investors at USD $100,000 per year. This elite service blends global mobility with unparalleled networking opportunities, ensuring the world's leading global citizens connect with peers who share their vision and values.

Armand is also co-founder of the Passport Index, the world's first and only real-time platform measuring the power of individual national passports. Initially developed as an internal analytical tool, it is now relied upon by governments, border agencies, and millions of travellers to track visa-free access, mobility scores, and bilateral agreements. In 2017, when the UAE announced its ambition to elevate its passport into the world's top five most powerful passports by 2021, the Passport Index was officially tasked by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with facilitating and monitoring this goal. Drawing on its real-time intelligence and diplomatic data-mapping, the platform supported policymakers in accelerating mobility agreements, and within less than two years, Armand helped guide the UAE passport to become the most powerful passport in the world.

Today, the Passport Index receives more than 400,000 monthly click-throughs to its digital application portal and is set to become a true mobility 'Super App,' bringing visa intelligence, application, and accompanying services into one intuitive platform. Having amassed nearly 300 million page views since its launch, Armand has set an ambitious goal for the tool: to facilitate one million digital visa applications per year by 2026.

At the heart of Armand's work is a belief that global mobility is not merely a privilege, but a powerful catalyst for opportunity, resilience, and shared responsibility. His own family history - spanning generations of migration, reinvention, and renewal - has shaped his conviction that access can transform lives. This ethos underpins all of Arton Capital's initiatives, from pioneering new government programmes to advancing digital mobility tools like The Passport Index. Through platforms such as the Global Citizen Forum, he continues to champion a future in which mobility is more inclusive, more secure, and increasingly digital - helping individuals, families, and nations navigate a rapidly changing world with confidence and purpose.