By Henley & Partners, London
When it comes to the number of resident millionaires, cities in the USA and China dominate the Top 10 Wealthiest Cities in the World, while only one European city, namely London, makes it onto the 2023 list.
New York City
The Big Apple is home to 340,000 millionaires, 724 centi-millionaires, and 58 billionaires. It is the financial center of the USA and the wealthiest city in the world by several measures. It is also home to the world’s two largest stock exchanges by market cap (the NYSE and the Nasdaq). The city comprises the five boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, and features some of the world’s most exclusive residential streets, including 5th Avenue in Manhattan where prime apartment prices can exceed USD 27,000 per square meter.
Tokyo
Tokyo has 290,300 resident millionaires, 250 centi-millionaires, and 14 billionaires. The city is home to a relatively low number of billionaires when compared to the other cities in our Top 10 list — this shows that wealth is relatively evenly distributed in Tokyo with the middle classes and lower-tier millionaires controlling most of the city’s capital. Major companies based in Tokyo include Hitachi, Honda, Mitsubishi, Softbank, and Sony.
The Bay Area
The Bay Area, which includes the City of San Francisco and Silicon Valley, is home to 285,000 millionaires, as well as 629 centi-millionaires and a high number of billionaires at 63. Most of the world’s top tech companies are based in the Bay Area including Adobe, Apple, Cisco, Facebook (Meta), Google (Alphabet), HP, Intel, LinkedIn, Lyft, Netflix, OpenAI, PayPal, Twitter, Uber, Yahoo, and Zoom.
London
In 2000, London was the top city in the world for millionaires, but it has slipped down the list over the past 20 years. Notwithstanding this, London still contains some of the world’s most exclusive residential suburbs, including the likes of Belgravia, Chelsea, Hampstead, Knightsbridge, Mayfair, Regents Park, and St. Johns Wood. London has 258,000 resident millionaires, 384 centi-millionaires, and 36 billionaires.
Singapore
Singapore is widely regarded as the most business-friendly city in the world and is one of the top destinations for migrating millionaires — approximately 2,800 high-net-worth individuals moved there in 2022 according to the latest Henley Wealth Migration Dashboard. Singapore is currently home to 240,100 millionaires, 329 centi-millionaires, and 27 billionaires.
Los Angeles
LA is home to 205,400 millionaires, as well as 480 centi-millionaires and 42 billionaires. Our figures for this area include wealth held in the City of Los Angeles, as well as nearby Beverly Hills and Malibu. Major industries include entertainment, media, real estate, retail, tech, and transport.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is home to 129,500 millionaires, 290 centi-millionaires, and 32 billionaires. Despite poor growth over the past decade, the city-state continues to be one of the world’s top financial hubs, with many of Asia’s wealthiest businesspeople still basing themselves there. The Hong Kong Stock Market remains one of the world’s most important stock exchanges.
Beijing
Beijing has 128,200 resident millionaires, 354 centi-millionaires, and 43 billionaires. The official capital city of China, Beijing is the base for many of the world’s largest companies. Its billionaire population is particularly high — only New York City and the Bay Area rank higher based on this measure.
Shanghai
Widely regarded as the financial capital of China, Shanghai is home to 127,200 millionaires, 332 centi-millionaires, and 40 billionaires. The Shanghai Stock Exchange is the third-largest stock market in the world by market cap (after the NYSE and the Nasdaq).
Sydney
With 126,900 resident millionaires, 184 centi-millionaires, and 15 billionaires, Sydney is home to some of the world’s most exclusive residential suburbs including Bellevue Hill, Darling Point, Mosman, Point Piper, and Vaucluse. 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. We expect this growth to continue, with Sydney projected to break into the global Top 5 wealthiest cities by 2040.
The fastest growing cities for the super-wealthy
The following major cities have experienced especially strong wealth growth over the past decade (2012 to 2022):
Europe:
- Monaco: Arguably the world’s top safe haven for the super-rich. The average wealth of a person living in Monaco exceeds USD 10 million, making it the top-ranked city in the world on a wealth per capita basis. It is also the world’s most expensive city, with apartment prices regularly exceeding USD 35,000 per square meter.
- Warsaw: The financial and economic hub of Poland. Fast-growing sectors in the city include financial services, real estate, and tech.
- Dublin: Home to the European headquarters of many of the world’s largest tech companies, Dublin has seen especially strong wealth growth over the past 20 years.
Americas:
- Scottsdale: The jewel in the crown of the Greater Phoenix Metro, Scottsdale is home to a growing number of exclusive golf and lifestyle estates and is attracting large numbers of tech entrepreneurs from California, as well as wealthy retirees.
- Austin: With its fast-growing tech sector, it has been dubbed “Silicon Hills”. Several major tech companies have moved their headquarters to Austin over the past few years, most notably Tesla and Oracle. The top-end residential market in the city has also been growing rapidly.
- West Palm Beach: An increasingly popular retirement hotspot for East Coast millionaires from cities such as Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia. Furthermore, many wealthy individuals are opting to work remotely in the area post-Covid, especially those in the fund management sector.
- Greenwich & Darien: These neighboring towns on Connecticut’s Gold Coast are becoming increasingly popular places of residence for fund managers, investment bankers, and wealthy financiers. Both are relatively safe towns that are favorable places in which to raise families, with good schools and large residential stands. Plus, taxes there are significantly lower than in nearby New York City.
Middle East and Africa:
- Dubai: Its safe haven status and low tax rates make it a magnet for migrating millionaires from the world over. Approximately 3,500 high-net-worth individuals moved to the city in 2022 alone.
- Marrakech: An increasingly popular retirement hotspot for Moroccan and European high-net-worth individuals. Marrakech is also home to flourishing luxury real estate and hotel sectors.
- Kigali: The economic center of Rwanda and a burgeoning tech and financial hub. Notably, Rwanda was Africa’s fastest growing market over the past decade, both in terms of millionaire growth and overall wealth growth.
Asia Pacific:
- Shenzhen: The hi-tech capital of China and home to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange — the sixth-largest stock market in the world by market cap. Several global tech giants are based in the city, including Huawei, Tencent, and ZTE.
- Bengaluru: Also known as the “Garden City” and the “Silicon Valley of India”, Bengaluru has a booming tech sector.
- Hangzhou: Widely regarded as one of the more scenic cities in China, Hangzhou is known for its architecture and gardens. This attracts high-net-worth individuals to live and retire in the city. Media and retail company Alibaba is based there, as are Ant Group and NetEase.
- Ho Chi Minh City: Previously known as Saigon, this city is emerging as Asia’s next big millionaire hotspot. Rapidly expanding sectors include financial services, textiles, technology, electronics, telecoms, chemicals, and tourism.
Notes:
- The 10 wealthiest cities in the world are ranked by their number of resident millionaires.
- ‘Millionaires’ or ‘high-net-worth individuals’ refer to individuals with investable wealth of USD 1 million or more. There are approximately 15 million such individuals in the world.
- Millionaire figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
- All figures are for 31 December 2022.
