New York is the richest city in the world with 359,500 millionaires and 60 billionaires, although California’s Bay Area is close behind, according to a new study.
New York’s millionaire population has increased by 48% over the past decade, despite fears of wealth flight and the erosion of the city’s wealthy population by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report by Henley & Partners in collaboration with New World Wealth. New York’s millionaire population is now larger than the entire population of Orlando or Pittsburgh. New York residents now have a wealth of more than $3 trillion, more than the GDP of Brazil, Italy or Canada.
However, San Francisco and the Bay Area are quickly catching up. The Bay Area’s millionaire population has increased 82% over the past decade to 305,700 people. The Bay Area leads the billionaire population with 68 billionaires, according to the report, which compares wealthy populations worldwide as of December.
The US is expanding its lead as the world’s largest creator of millionaires and billionaires. According to the report, the US is home to 11 of the 50 richest cities.
Over the last decade, the rise of tech wealth combined with the stock market’s rise and deal making has resulted in record fortunes. The pandemic-related fiscal stimulus effectively accelerated wealth creation, particularly at the top, with the wealth of America’s top 1% increasing by over 40%, according to the Federal Reserve.
“The U.S. continues to dominate the world’s richest cities due to its dominance in the global finance, technology and entertainment sectors,” said Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth. “It is noteworthy that over the past decade, U.S. cities have significantly outperformed other Western cities when it comes to total wealth and millionaire growth,” Amoils added.
A turnaround occurred in some cities around the world. Tokyo, which was the world’s richest city a decade ago, is now third, with its millionaire population falling 5% to 298,300 people.
London, for many years the world’s richest city, plunged to fifth place as Brexit, Russian sanctions and other policies slowed wealth migration. The city’s millionaire population has declined by 10% in the last decade.
China has cracked the top 10 for the first time, with Beijing seeing a 90% increase in millionaires over the last decade to 125,600 millionaires. But the slowing economy and wealth flight are causing a reversal in wealth creation, with the millionaire population falling 4% last year, Amoils said.
Singapore, benefiting from the flow of wealth from China, climbed two places in the rankings to fourth place, with a 64% increase in millionaires to 244,800 people. More than 3,400 millionaires moved to Singapore in 2023 alone, and Amoils said Singapore will take Tokyo’s place in the rankings “very soon.”
Los Angeles also moved up the list, moving up two spots to sixth place with a 45% increase in the number of millionaires.
Jürg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, said that financial markets have been the most important driver of wealth creation worldwide over the last decade.
“The S&P 500’s 24% rise last year, along with the Nasdaq’s 43% rise and Bitcoin’s stunning 155% rally, have boosted the fortunes of wealthy investors,” he said. “Rapid advances in artificial intelligence, robotics and blockchain technology have created new opportunities for wealth creation and accumulation.”
Here is the full ranking of the world’s richest cities, according to Henley & Partners and New World Wealth:
1. New York City
2. Bay Area, California
3. Tokyo
4. Singapore
5. London
6. Los Angeles
7. Paris and Île-de-France
8.Sydney
9. Hong Kong
10. Beijing
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2024-05-07 19:12:53
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