World's Richest Cities in 2023
London, April 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- By number of millionaire residents, cities in the United States and China dominate the world's top ten richest cities, with only one European city, London, included in the 2023 ranking released today by international investment migration firm Henley & Partners and global wealth intelligence company New World Wealth.
New York City is the wealthiest city in the world, with 340,000 millionaires; the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, two other U.S. wealth hubs, rank third and sixth, with 285,000 and 205,400 high-net-worth residents respectively (note: high-net-worth individuals are those with investable wealth exceeding US$1 million; all figures are rounded to the nearest hundred).
Tokyo, which topped the list ten years ago, has dropped to second place with 290,300 millionaires, while London, which once held the top spot for many years, has fallen to fourth place with 258,000 resident high-net-worth individuals. Singapore, widely regarded as one of the world's best business environments and a top destination for migrating millionaires, ranks fifth with 240,100 millionaire residents; Sydney ranks tenth with 126,900 millionaires. Sydney boasts some of the world's most exclusive suburban residential areas and has seen particularly strong wealth growth over the past 20 years, with projections that it will enter the global top five richest cities by 2040.
Three Chinese cities made the top ten: Hong Kong (129,500 millionaires), Beijing (128,200), and Shanghai (127,200), ranking seventh, eighth, and ninth respectively. Over the past decade, Beijing and Shanghai have risen in the rankings, while Hong Kong has fallen from fourth place in 2012 to seventh place currently.
Dr. Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, stated: "Of the ten wealthiest cities in the world, seven are located in countries that have official investment migration programs and actively encourage foreign direct investment in exchange for residency or citizenship."
Over the past ten years, the United States and China have also dominated the list of the ten fastest-growing cities. Hangzhou, long a popular vacation destination in China, topped the list with a 105% growth rate in millionaires between 2012 and 2022, while Shenzhen and the port city of Guangzhou saw significant increases in their high-net-worth populations, reaching 98% and 86% respectively. The three fastest-growing millionaire hotspots in the U.S. are Austin (102% growth in resident high-net-worth individuals), West Palm Beach (90%), and Scottsdale (88%). Two Indian cities made the top ten: Bangalore (88%) and Hyderabad (78%). The final two cities in the top ten are Sharjah (84%), the cultural center of the UAE, and Ho Chi Minh City (82%) in Vietnam, which is rapidly becoming Asia's next major wealth hub.
Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at New World Wealth, noted that traditionally attractive wealth cities have also experienced particularly strong growth over the past decade. "Monaco is the world's top paradise for the ultra-wealthy, with an average personal wealth of over US$10 million per resident, making it the city with the highest per capita wealth. It is also the most expensive city in the world to live in, with apartment prices exceeding US$35,000 per square meter. Dubai is another leading international wealth hub, with its low tax rates attracting millionaires from around the world. In 2022 alone, approximately 3,500 high-net-worth individuals relocated to the city."
