256: The Promise of Self-Governing Cities: Expats' Freedom Frontier – Alex Voss

The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup

Today’s guest is Alex Voss, a board member and the CFO of TIPOLIS, a company committed to becoming the creator, owner and operator of a global portfolio of international, autonomous cities. Alex also shares an affinity for topics like Bitcoin, Austrian economics and free cities, so as you can imagine, we get along great. Alex and I have known each other for a few years now, and it was great to sit down and pick his brain on the topic of free cities. Enjoy!

TODAY'S CONVERSATION WITH ALEX VOSS

• Listen to Alex detail the pathway that took him from an interest in Austrian Economics to directly applying that knowledge through his work with Tipolis.
• Learn the differences between the for-profit company “Tipolis” and the not-for-profit “Free Cities Foundation.”
• Alex answers the question on everyone’s mind when it comes to “free cities”: where does the money come from, if not from “taxes" in the traditional sense?
• We discuss one of the most well-known “free cities” projects in Prospera, Honduras, and provide an update on the troubles they’ve encountered with the government there.
• Hear Alex further explain the business model behind free cities and how the risk associated with these projects is “built-in” to the price. If everything were perfect and predictable, the costs wouldn't be as attractive as there are today. You are paid handsomely for the perceived risk.
• Alex and I discuss the interesting case of El Salvador and whether its’ adoption of Bitcoin could make it a prime location for a free city project itself.
• Listen to Alex give an inside look at how and why the doors have rapidly begun to open in the last several years when it comes to finding opportunities with sympathetic governments for potential free city prospects.
• We discuss how the economic impact of the COVID years, along with the rise of digital nomadism, have completely changed the landscape for the viability of free cities.

RELATED EPISODES

222: Best Of Special Economic Zones And Private Cities 214: Stacking Laws Like Lego Blocks To Secure Your Freedom - Patri Friedman 192: Building Free Private Cities Around The World - Peter Young

HOW TO FIND ALEX VOSS’ WORK

Alex’s Substack: virtusvoss.substack.com Tipolis: https://tipolis.com

CONCLUSION

One of my favourite parts of what I do with Expat Money is all the great people like Alex I’ve had the opportunity to connect with through the shared interest of helping others achieve more liberty in their lives. There is a massive overlap between what I do in the expat space and the work Alex and others are doing with the Free Cities Foundation and Tipolis, and that’s why I decided to become a part of these projects myself and now sit on the Advisory Council for their company. I hope you enjoyed this latest look at the concept of free cities, and it’s one we’ll continue to circle back to here on the Expat Money Show as things are constantly evolving. Be sure to follow Alex and his work at Tipolis and the Free Cities Foundation in the meantime!

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