Editing Liechtenstein (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Liechtenstein}}

=== Early history ===
[[File:Liechtenstein asv2022-10 img25 Balzers Burg Gutenberg.jpg|thumb|[[Gutenberg Castle]], Balzers, Liechtenstein]]
[[File:Castillo, Vaduz, Liechtenstein, 2022-10-23, DD 65.jpg|thumb|[[Vaduz Castle]], overlooking the capital, is home to the [[Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein|Prince of Liechtenstein]].]]
[[File:Johann Josef I von Liechtenstein.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein]] from 1805 to 1806 and 1814 to 1836, by [[Johann Baptist von Lampi the Elder]]. [[Liechtenstein Museum]], Vienna]]

The oldest traces of human existence in the area of present-day Liechtenstein date back to the [[Middle Paleolithic]] era.<ref name="Early">[https://web.archive.org/web/20100419174957/http://www.swissworld.org/en/history/prehistory_to_romans/prehistoric_times/ History]. swissworld.org. Retrieved 27 June 2009</ref> [[Neolithic]] farming settlements appeared in the valleys around 5300 BCE.

The [[Hallstatt culture|Hallstatt]] and [[La Tène culture]]s flourished during the late [[Iron Age]], from around 450 BCE—possibly under some influence of both the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] and [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] civilisations. One of the most important tribal groups in the Alpine region were the [[Helvetii]]. In 58 BCE, at the [[Battle of Bibracte]], [[Julius Caesar]] defeated the Alpine tribes, thereby bringing the region under [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] subjugation. By 15 BCE, [[Tiberius]]—later the second Roman emperor—with his brother, [[Nero Claudius Drusus|Drusus]], conquered the entire Alpine area.<ref name="Römerzeit – Historisches Lexikon">{{Cite web |title=Römerzeit – Historisches Lexikon |url=https://historisches-lexikon.li/R%C3%B6merzeit |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=historisches-lexikon.li |language=de}}</ref>

Liechtenstein then became integrated into the [[Roman province]] of [[Raetia]]. The area was garrisoned by the [[Imperial Roman army|Roman army]], which maintained large legionary camps at [[Bregenz|Brigantium]] (Bregenz, Austria), near [[Lake Constance]], and at [[Maienfeld|Magia]] (Maienfeld, Switzerland). The Romans built and maintained a [[Roman road|road]] which ran through the territory. Around 260 CE Brigantium was destroyed by the [[Alemanni]], a [[Germanic people]] who later settled in the area around 450.<ref name="Römerzeit – Historisches Lexikon"/>

In the [[Early Middle Ages]], the Alemanni settled the eastern [[Swiss plateau]] by the 5th century and the [[valleys of the Alps]] by the end of the 8th century, with Liechtenstein located at the eastern edge of [[Alamannia]]. In the 6th century the entire region became part of the [[Frankish Empire]] following [[Clovis I|Clovis&nbsp;I]]'s victory over the Alemanni at [[Tolbiac]] in 504.<ref name="Nationsencyclopedia">[http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Switzerland-HISTORY.html Switzerland history] Nationsencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 27 November 2009</ref><ref name="Nationsonline">[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/History/Switzerland-history.htm History of Switzerland] Nationsonline.org. Retrieved 27 November 2009.</ref>

The area that later became Liechtenstein remained under Frankish hegemony ([[Merovingians|Merovingian]] and [[Carolingian Empire|Carolingian]] dynasties) until the [[Treaty of Verdun]] divided the Carolingian empire in 843, following the death of [[Charlemagne]] in 814.<ref name = Early /> The territory of present-day Liechtenstein formed part of [[East Francia]]. It would later be reunified with [[Middle Francia]] under the [[Holy Roman Empire]], around 1000.<ref name = Early /> Until about 1100, the predominant language of the area was [[Romansh language|Romansch]], but thereafter [[German language|German]] began to gain ground in the territory. In 1300, another Alemannic population—the [[Walser]]s, who originated in [[Valais]]—entered the region and settled; the mountain village of [[Triesenberg]] today preserves features of the [[Walser German|Walser dialect]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Klieger |first=P. Christiaan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CrfwGa4aCwYC |title=The Microstates of Europe: Designer Nations in a Post-Modern World |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-0-7391-7427-2 |series=Anthropology, political science |location=Lanham, Maryland |publication-date=2012 |page=41 |chapter=Principality of Liechtenstein |date=29 November 2012 |quote=In 1300, the Walsers, a mountain-dwelling Alemannic speaking group from Valais in Switzerland, entered and inhabited the modern eastern Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Vorarlberg, Austria. The mountain village of Triesenberg is a modern preserve of the Walser people and their dialect. |access-date=27 January 2021}}</ref>

=== Foundation of a dynasty ===
{{More sources|subsection|date=April 2025}}
By 1200, dominions across the Alpine plateau were controlled by the Houses of [[House of Savoy|Savoy]], [[Zähringer]], [[Habsburg]], and [[House of Kyburg|Kyburg]]. Other regions were accorded the [[Imperial immediacy]] that granted the empire direct control over the mountain passes. When the Kyburg dynasty fell in 1264, the Habsburgs under [[Rudolph I of Germany|King Rudolph I]], the Holy Roman Emperor in 1273, extended their territory to the eastern Alpine plateau that included the territory of Liechtenstein.<ref name = Nationsencyclopedia /> This region was [[Feoffment|enfeoffed]] to the [[Hohenems|Counts of Hohenems]] until the sale to the [[Liechtenstein dynasty]] in 1699.

In 1396, [[Vaduz]], the southern region of Liechtenstein, gained [[imperial immediacy]], i.e. it became subject to the Holy Roman Emperor alone.<ref name="Eccardt 2005 176">{{Cite book |last=Eccardt |first=Thomas |title=Secrets of the Seven Smallest States of Europe |date=2005 |publisher=Hippocrene Books |isbn=978-0-7818-1032-6 |pages=176}}</ref>

The family from which the principality takes its name originally came from [[Liechtenstein Castle]] in Lower Austria, which they had possessed since at least 1140 until the 13th century, and again from 1807 onwards. The Liechtensteins acquired land, predominantly in [[Moravia]], [[Lower Austria]], [[Silesia]], and [[Duchy of Styria|Styria]]. As these territories were all held in [[Fee (feudal tenure)|feudal tenure]] from more senior feudal lords, particularly various branches of the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburgs]], the Liechtenstein dynasty was unable to meet a primary requirement to qualify for a seat in the Imperial Diet (parliament), the {{lang|de|[[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Reichstag]]}}. Even though several Liechtenstein princes served several Habsburg rulers as close advisers, without any territory held directly from the Imperial throne, they held little power in the Holy Roman Empire.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

For this reason, the family sought to acquire lands that would be classed as {{lang|de|unmittelbar}}, or held without any intermediate feudal tenure, directly from the [[Holy Roman Emperor]]. During the early 17th century, [[Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein|Karl I of Liechtenstein]] was made a {{lang|de|Fürst}} (prince) by the Holy Roman Emperor [[Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor|Matthias]] after siding with him in a political battle.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Vaduz-Vienna |first=LIECHTENSTEIN The Princely Collections |title=Prince Karl I von Liechtenstein |url=https://www.liechtensteincollections.at/en/princes/prince-karl-i-von-liechtenstein |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=17th century {{!}} Das Fürstenhaus von Liechtenstein |url=https://fuerstenhaus.li/en/die-biographien-aller-fuersten/17-century/ |access-date=2025-04-19 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Susan |date=2021-11-20 |title=Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein |url=https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-i-prince-of-liechtenstein/ |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=Unofficial Royalty |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein|Hans-Adam I]] was allowed to purchase the minuscule [[Lordship of Schellenberg|{{lang|de|Herrschaft|nocat=y}} ('Lordship') of Schellenberg]] and the [[county of Vaduz]] (in 1699 and 1712, respectively) from the Hohenems. Tiny Schellenberg and Vaduz had exactly the political status required: no feudal superior ([[suzerain]]) other than the emperor.<ref name=":0" />

=== Principality ===
[[File:Herzogshut Liechtenstein (1).JPG|thumb|left|[[Ducal hat of Liechtenstein]]]]
On 23 January 1719,<ref name="creation">{{Cite web |title=History, creation of Liechtenstein |url=https://www.liechtenstein.li/en/country-and-people/history/creation-of-liechtenstein/ |access-date=1 April 2017 |website=liechtenstein.li |publisher=Liechtenstein Marketing |archive-date=10 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310053248/https://www.liechtenstein.li/en/country-and-people/history/creation-of-liechtenstein/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> after the lands had been purchased, [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor]], decreed that Vaduz and Schellenberg were united and elevated the newly formed territory to the dignity of {{lang|de|Reichsfürstentum}} ([[Prince of the Holy Roman Empire|imperial principality]]) with the name "Liechtenstein" in honour of "[his] true servant, [[Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein|Anton Florian of Liechtenstein]]". On this date, Liechtenstein became a [[Landeshoheit|mostly-sovereign]] [[Imperial immediacy|immediate]] member state of the [[Holy Roman Empire]].<ref name="creation" />

By the early 19th century, as a result of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in Europe, the Holy Roman Empire came under the effective control of France, following the crushing defeat at [[Battle of Austerlitz|Austerlitz]] by [[Napoleon]] in 1805. In 1806, Emperor [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II]] abdicated and [[dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire|dissolved the Holy Roman Empire]], ending more than 960 years of feudal government. Napoleon reorganized much of the Empire into the [[Confederation of the Rhine]]. This political restructuring had broad consequences for Liechtenstein: the historical imperial, legal, and political institutions had been dissolved. The state ceased to owe an obligation to any feudal lord beyond its borders.<ref name="creation" />

Modern publications generally attribute Liechtenstein's sovereignty to these events. Its prince ceased to owe an obligation to any [[Suzerainty|suzerain]]. From 25 July 1806, when the [[Confederation of the Rhine]] was founded, the Prince of Liechtenstein was a member, in fact a vassal, of its [[hegemon]], styled ''protector'', the French Emperor Napoleon I, until the dissolution of the confederation on 19 October 1813.

Soon afterward, Liechtenstein joined the [[German Confederation]] (20 June 1815{{spaced ndash}}23 August 1866), which was presided over by the [[Emperor of Austria]].

In 1818, [[Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein|Prince Johann I]] granted the territory a limited constitution. In that same year [[Aloys II, Prince of Liechtenstein|Prince Aloys]] became the first member of the House of Liechtenstein to set foot in the principality that bore their name. The next visit would not occur until 1842.

Developments during the 19th century included:
* 1842: the first factory for making ceramics was opened.
* 1861: the Savings and Loans Bank was founded along with the first cotton-weaving mill.
* 1866: the German Confederation was dissolved.
* 1868: the Liechtenstein Army was disbanded for financial reasons.
* 1872: a [[Feldkirch–Buchs railway|railway line]] between Switzerland and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was constructed through Liechtenstein.
* 1886: two bridges over the Rhine to Switzerland were built.

In 1884, [[Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein|Johann II]] appointed [[Carl von In der Maur]], an Austrian aristocrat, to serve as the [[Prime Minister of Liechtenstein|Governor of Liechtenstein]]. 

=== 20th century ===
Until the end of [[World War I]], Liechtenstein was closely tied first to the [[Austrian Empire]] and later to [[Austria-Hungary]]; the ruling princes continued to derive much of their wealth from estates in the Habsburg territories, and spent much of their time at their two palaces in Vienna. The economic devastation caused by World War I forced the country to conclude a [[Liechtenstein–Switzerland relations#Cooperation|customs and monetary union]] with its other neighbour, [[Switzerland]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marxer |first=Roland |date=31 December 2011 |title=Zollanschlussvertrag |url=https://historisches-lexikon.li/Zollanschlussvertrag |access-date=25 October 2023 |website=Historisches Lexikon |language=de}}</ref> In addition, popular unrest caused from economic devastation in the war directly led to the [[November 1918 Liechtenstein putsch]], which created the process of a [[Constitution of Liechtenstein|new constitution]] based on [[constitutional monarchy]] being introduced in 1921.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Quaderer |first=Rupert |date=31 December 2011 |title=Novemberputsch 1918 |url=https://historisches-lexikon.li/Novemberputsch_1918 |access-date=3 October 2023 |website=[[Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein]] |language=de}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Wille |first=Herbert |date=31 December 2011 |title=Verfassung |url=https://historisches-lexikon.li/Verfassung |access-date=24 December 2023 |website=[[Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein]] |language=de}}</ref>

In 1929, 75-year-old [[Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein|Prince Franz I]] succeeded to the throne. He had just married [[Elisabeth von Gutmann]], a wealthy woman from Vienna whose father was a Jewish businessman from Moravia. Although Liechtenstein had no official [[Nazi party]], a Nazi sympathy movement arose within its National Union party. [[German National Movement in Liechtenstein|Local Liechtenstein Nazis]] identified Elisabeth as their Jewish "problem".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=11 April 1938 |title=Liechtenstein: Nazi Pressure? |magazine=Time |location=New York |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,759431,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070309222117/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,759431,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 March 2007 |access-date=26 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1 April 1938 |title=NAZIS IN CABINET IN LIECHTENSTEIN; Prince Franz Joseph, the New Ruler, Names Them Though Pledging Independence HITLER MOVEMENT GAINS Its Growing Strength Was One Reason for Abdication of Franz 1, Old Sovereign |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/04/01/archives/nazis-in-cabinet-in-liechtenstein-prince-franz-joseph-the-new-ruler.html |access-date=16 May 2023}}</ref> Pro-Nazi agitation remained in Liechtenstein throughout the 1930s, with an [[1939 Liechtenstein putsch|attempted coup]] in March 1939 while [[Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein|Franz Joseph II]] was on a state visit to [[Berlin]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 April 1939 |title=Liechtenstein Jails Nazi For Attempt at Uprising |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1939/04/27/91573866.html |access-date=18 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=27 March 2019 |title=Prince Franz Josef II visits Adolf Hitler in Berlin |url=https://www.liechtenstein-institut.li/news/furst-franz-josef-ii-besucht-adolf-hitler-berlin |access-date=17 May 2023 |website=Liechtenstein-Institut |language=de}}</ref>

In March 1938, just after the [[Anschluss|annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany]], Franz named as regent his 31-year-old grandnephew and heir-presumptive, [[Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein|Prince Franz Joseph]]. After making his grandnephew regent he moved to Feldberg, [[Czechoslovakia]] and on 25 July, he died while at one of his family's castles, Castle Feldberg, and Franz Joseph formally succeeded him as the Prince of Liechtenstein.<ref name="franz life">{{Cite news |date=1 May 1938 |title=Prince Franz of the 'Postage Stamp State' Retires |page=76 |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49181566/st-louis-post-dispatch/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421002324/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49181566/st-louis-post-dispatch/ |archive-date=21 April 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1 April 1938 |title=Prince Franz to Return to Estate |page=216 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49180180/daily-news/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420235228/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49180180/daily-news/ |archive-date=20 April 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=26 July 1938 |title=Oldest Former Ruler Succumbs |page=1 |work=Kenosha News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49178617/kenosha-news/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420233456/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49178617/kenosha-news/ |archive-date=20 April 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
[[File:Franz I Portrait.jpg|thumb|231x231px|[[Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein]] from 1929 to 1938]]
[[File:Fürst Franz Josef II..jpg|thumb|223x223px|[[Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein]] from 1938 to 1989]]
During [[World War II]], Liechtenstein remained officially neutral, looking to neighbouring Switzerland for assistance and guidance, while family treasures from dynastic lands and possessions in [[Bohemia]], [[Moravia]], and [[Silesia]] were taken to Liechtenstein for safekeeping. [[Operation Tannenbaum]], the Nazi plan for conquest of Switzerland, also included Liechtenstein, and the Nazi "Pan German" dream of uniting all German-speakers in the Reich would have also included the population of Liechtenstein. However in 1944, the Nazis abandoned implementing this plan after the [[Normandy landings|Allied invasion of France]], and Liechtenstein was spared from enduring a Nazi occupation.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

At the close of the conflict, [[Third Czechoslovak Republic|Czechoslovakia]] and [[Provisional Government of National Unity|Poland]], acting to seize what they considered German possessions, expropriated all of the Liechtenstein dynasty's properties in those three regions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 April 2023 |title=Prince Franz Josef II Von Und Zu Liechtenstein |url=https://www.liechtensteincollections.at/en/princes/prince-franz-josef-ii-von-und-zu-liechtenstein |access-date=21 April 2023 |website=Liechtenstein The Princely Collections |language=de}}</ref> The expropriations (subject to [[Foreign relations of Liechtenstein#International dispute with Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic and Slovakia|modern legal dispute]] at the [[International Court of Justice]]) included over {{convert|1600|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} of agricultural and forest land (most notably the UNESCO listed [[Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape]]), and several family castles and palaces.

In 2005, a government-commissioned investigation revealed that Jewish slave labourers from the [[Strasshof an der Nordbahn|Strasshof]] [[concentration camp]], provided by the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]], had worked on estates in Austria owned by Liechtenstein's Princely House.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 April 2005 |title=Nazi crimes taint Liechtenstein |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4443809.stm |access-date=3 August 2017}}</ref> The report indicated that though no evidence was found of the House's knowledge of the slave labour, the House bore responsibility.<ref>{{cite web |date=14 April 2005 |title=Nazi Camp Labor Used in Liechtenstein |url=https://www.dw.com/en/nazi-camp-labor-used-in-liechtenstein/a-1552304 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113070110/https://www.dw.com/en/nazi-camp-labor-used-in-liechtenstein/a-1552304 |archive-date=13 January 2018 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref>

Citizens of Liechtenstein were forbidden to enter Czechoslovakia during the [[Cold War]]. The diplomatic conflict revolving around the controversial postwar [[Beneš decrees]] resulted in Liechtenstein not having international relations with the [[Czech Republic]] or [[Slovakia]]. Diplomatic relations were established between Liechtenstein and the Czech Republic on 13 July 2009,<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 July 2009 |title=Liechtenstein and the Czech Republic establish diplomatic relations |url=http://88.82.102.51/fileadmin/_pm.liechtenstein.li/en/090713_PM_Beziehungen_CzFl_en.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511222932/http://88.82.102.51/fileadmin/_pm.liechtenstein.li/en/090713_PM_Beziehungen_CzFl_en.pdf |archive-date=11 May 2011 |access-date=6 August 2009 |publisher=Government Spokesperson's Office, the Principality of Liechtenstein}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=13 July 2009 |title=Navázání diplomatických styků České republiky s Knížectvím Lichtenštejnsko |trans-title=Establishment of diplomatic relations with the Czech Republic and the Principality of Liechtenstein |url=http://www.mzv.cz/jnp/cz/udalosti_a_media/prohlaseni_a_stanoviska/archiv_prohlaseni_a_stanovisek/archiv_2009/x2009_07_13_lilchtejnstejnsko_navazani_diplomatickych_vztahu.html |access-date=28 October 2011 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic |language=cs}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 July 2009 |title=MINA Breaking News – Decades later, Liechtenstein and Czechs establish diplomatic ties |url=http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/7526/1/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091121070018/http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/7526/1 |archive-date=21 November 2009 |access-date=6 June 2010 |publisher=Macedoniaonline.eu}}</ref> and with Slovakia on 9 December 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 December 2009 |title=Liechtenstein and the Slovak Republic establish diplomatic relations |url=http://88.82.102.51/fileadmin/_pm.liechtenstein.li/en/091209_Beziehungen_SKFL_en.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511222920/http://88.82.102.51/fileadmin/_pm.liechtenstein.li/en/091209_Beziehungen_SKFL_en.pdf |archive-date=11 May 2011 |access-date=22 December 2009 |publisher=Government Spokesperson's Office, the Principality of Liechtenstein}}</ref>

On 20 September 1990, Liechtenstein was admitted into the [[United Nations]] as 160th member state. As a member of the [[United Nations General Assembly]], the microstate is one of the few not to play a prominent role in [[List of specialized agencies of the United Nations|UN-specialized agencies]].{{cn|date=May 2025}}

=== Financial centre ===
Liechtenstein was in dire financial straits following the end of World War II. The Liechtenstein dynasty often resorted to selling family artistic treasures, including the portrait ''[[Ginevra de' Benci]]'' by [[Leonardo da Vinci]], which was purchased by the [[National Gallery of Art]] of the United States in 1967 for {{US$|link=yes}}5&nbsp;million (${{Inflation|US|5|1967}} million in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Congress |first=United States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qT04AQAAMAAJ&dq=Ginevra+de%27+Benci++liechtenstein+5+million&pg=PA791 |title=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress |date=1967 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}}</ref> then a record price for a painting.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q0dNAAAAYAAJ&q=Ginevra+de'+Benci++liechtenstein+5+million |title=Guinness Book of World Records |date=1972 |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company |language=en}}</ref>

By the late 1970s, Liechtenstein used its low [[corporate tax]] rates to draw many companies and became one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

Liechtenstein is one of the few countries in Europe (along with [[Monaco]] and [[San Marino]]) [[Tax haven|not to have a tax treaty]] with the [[United States]], and efforts towards one seem to have stalled.<ref>{{Cite web |title=United States Income Tax Treaties – A to Z  |url=https://www.irs.gov/businesses/international-businesses/united-states-income-tax-treaties-a-to-z |access-date=7 February 2021 |website=Internal Revenue Service |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tax-news.com/news/US_And_Liechtenstein_To_Negotiate_Double_Tax_Treaty____76564.html |title=US And Liechtenstein To Negotiate Double Tax Treaty |website=Tax-News.com |first1=Ulrika |last1=Lomas |date=16 March 2018|access-date=7 February 2021 |archive-date=21 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521064324/https://www.tax-news.com/news/US_And_Liechtenstein_To_Negotiate_Double_Tax_Treaty____76564.html |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

{{As of|2019|September}} the [[Prince of Liechtenstein]] is the world's fifth [[List of the richest royals|wealthiest monarch]], with an estimated wealth of {{US$}}3.5&nbsp;billion.<ref name="CEOWorld2019">{{cite web |url-status=live |url=https://ceoworld.biz/2019/09/18/these-are-the-worlds-richest-royals-2019/ |title=These Are The World's Richest Royals, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520122309/https://ceoworld.biz/2019/09/18/these-are-the-worlds-richest-royals-2019/ |archive-date=2020-05-20 |website=CEO World |date=18 September 2019 |first1=Alexandra |last1=Dimitropoulou }}</ref> The country's population enjoys one of the [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|world's highest standards of living]].