The price of Bolo Rei is apparently going up even more this Christmas. Bolo Rei is a traditional Christmas cake, and as we get closer to the holidays, we start to see it served at cafés along with the usual pastry and bread shops.
The rising price of cacao, butter, and sugar is the main reason that pastries are getting more expensive in Portugal, forcing confectioners to adjust their prices as it gets closer to Christmas. The famous longstanding makers of Bolo Rei cakes managed to keep prices level last year, but they haven’t yet decided what to do this season. That said, the type of raisin you need to make Bolo Rei now sells for five euros a kilogram instead of two euros last year. I guess higher-priced raw ingredients leave manufacturers no choice but to raise the price of their goods.

We’re still dealing with the coronavirus, there are wars around the world, and prices are shooting skyward. Portugal was once a relatively economical part of Europe to live in, but today it’s on par with places like Spain, Italy, France, and Germany. Of course it’s probably a bit cheaper than living in a capital or major city in those countries, but the longtime residents in this area are nearly panicking at seeing prices double. At least average wages are trending upward here as well, but the increase is nowhere near the pace of inflation.
I’ve been shocked myself when I take my usual shopping cart full of items to the register. These days, I pore over the price of everything, and only buy what I absolutely need. In a way I guess it’s good, since I’m not wasting anything.


There’s another thing that’s been getting more expensive here, and that’s real estate.
Apparently Portugal is among the top 20 places in the world for rising home prices.
According to statistics, home sale prices are rising faster than they are elsewhere in the world, at a pace that puts Portugal at 16th globally and ahead of places like Singapore, Brazil, Spain, Japan, and the US.
Apparently the bulk of the increase reflects rising demand from a growing population, but in the case of Portugal, I think it has to do with the number of overseas immigrants in particular. People have been flooding in from the rest of Europe for about fifteen years now, and there has been a huge spike in Americans over the last several years.

I also saw an article that put Portugal among the top ten countries in terms of estimated net inflow of millionaires in 2024. Over the last ten years, Portugal has seen a massive influx of the wealthy from mainland Europe, the UK, Brazil, South Africa, China, Turkey, and the US, and this trend is expected to continue in the coming year. The data rank Portugal ninth out of ten, with more than 800 millionaires expected to emigrate in 2024.
This is more than Jeff Bezos and American celebrities hanging out at Portuguese resorts in the summer—famous people like Madonna, Scarlet Johansson, and Nicole Kidman are buying properties in Portugal. The royal couple Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly purchased a 722-acre villa here recently. Their neighbor will be Prince Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, who already spends half the year in Portugal.

The millionaires are pouring in because of the Portuguese sunshine. The sun shines on everyone equally, but there are an increasing number of high-end clubs and restaurants that cater to the rich in Lisbon, and I’m really going to start feeling sorry for the Portuguese poor once they start driving up prices as well.