The 10 Richest Cities in the World
The data for the world’s wealthiest cities came from global citizenship firm Henley & Partners; their report measured just how fast millionaire growth has increased in the past 10 years across major cities all around the globe. It’s also interesting that many of these cities allow easier immigration based on larger sums of investment, which gives millionaires and billionaires a leg up over other foreign citizens.
01. New York City, USA
New York City came in at no. 1 on the list. The report found that from 2012 to 2022, the city had a 40% growth in its population of high-net-worth individuals.New York City, aka The Big Apple, is at the top of the chain. 340,000 millionaires, 724 centi-millionaires, and 58 billionaires live in the United States’ financial hub.
Some of the top exclusive residential streets, like 5th Avenue in Manhattan, are in the city that comprises the boroughs of Manhattan, Staten Island Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens.
02. Tokyo, Japan
The second wealthiest city on the list is Tokyo, Japan. The city did see a 5% decline in its high-net-worth individual population growth from 2012 to 2022. Despite that, Tokyo accounts for 21% of Japan’s millionaires.
Fourteen billionaires, 290,300 resident millionaires, and 250 centi-millionaires live in the city of Tokyo. Multinational corporations like Hitachi, Honda, Mitsubishi, Softbank, and Sony are based in the city. While the Japanese capital has fewer billionaires compared to other cities on the list, it shows the wealth is distributed evenly across the city as much of the capital is controlled by the low-tier millionaires and middle-class.
03. The Bay Area
California’s Bay Area, which includes San Francisco and Silicon Valley, rounded out the top three.
The Bay Area includes the City of San Francisco and Silicon Valley. 285,000 millionaires, 629 centi-millionaires and 63 billionaires live in the area. This is because it is home to some of the globe’s top tech companies like Apple, Cisco, Facebook (Meta), Google (Alphabet), HP, Intel, and LinkedIn.
04. London, UK
London was at the top of the list when it came to most millionaires in the world in 2000. However, in the last 20 years, it has slipped to the fourth place. London in the United Kingdom ranks four on this list, with 258,000 resident millionaires, 384 centi-millionaires, and 36 billionaires. It’s home to some of the world’s most expensive zip codes, too, with homes in Kensington going for no less than $14 million.
05. Singapore
Singapore is popularly known as a business-friendly city and is a top destination for migrating millionaires. The Republic of Singapore has 240,100 millionaires, 329 centi-millionaires, and 27 billionaires, ranking it fifth on the list. Since 2012, the report says that the population of high-net-worth individuals grew by 40 percent, just as New York’s did.
06. Los Angeles
Los Angeles is a major city for the entertainment, media, real estate, retail, and tech industries. Long known as the entertainment capital of the world, Los Angeles has 480 centi-millionaires and 42 billionaires. The growth rate of high-net-worth individuals since 2012 is a whopping 35 percent, and it includes wealth held in high-profile areas like Beverly Hills and Malibu.
07. Hong Kong
According to the Henley & Partners report, Hong Kong ranks seventh on the list, due to the fact that many of Asia’s wealthiest live there.129,500 millionaires, 290 centi-millionaires, and 32 billionaires reside in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s most expensive street is Mount Nicholson Road.
08. Beijing
The second city on this list in China. Beijing has 43 billionaires. This is a particularly high number compared to other Asian cities that made the list. 354 centi-millionaires, and 43 billionaires also live in the city. Which is one of the higher numbers (only New York and the Bay Area have numbers larger than this).
09. Shanghai
Shanghai, also in China, is number nine—the report says that it experienced the highest growth of high-net-worth individuals than any other city on the list, up 72 percent from 2012 to 2022. Shanghai is home to 127,200 millionaires, 332 centi-millionaires, and 40 billionaires. The city, widely regarded as China’s financial capital, has the third-largest stock market in the world—the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
10. Sydney
Sydney is the only Australian city that made it to the top 10.With 126,900 resident millionaires, 184 centi-millionaires, and 15 billionaires. Bellevue Hill, Darling Point , Mosman , Point Piper, and Vaucluse are some of the world’s most exclusive residential suburbs, all belonging to Sydney.
The city has experienced especially strong wealth growth over the past 20 years, and is quickly becoming one of the wealthiest cities in the Asia Pacific region.
