Wealth, investment, and connectivity is what defines the top 5 cities that draw in the world’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Holding strong as the number one wealth capital of the world, New York City may dominate, and North America may control the top 10 hotspots, but Asian cities hold five spots, and two of them are in the top 5, according to Wealth-X rankings.
Billionaires being minted on the continent may change the UHNW geography eventually.
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#1 NYC
For now, New York continues rule this roost in terms of number of UHNW. In 2016, the city had the highest number of residents with $30 million or more in assets—up 9 percent from the previous year.
It’s also the wealthiest city in the world, registering a total wealth of $3 trillion, with UHNW comprising around 1 percent of the population.
But 2017 findings by Wealth-X also found that if we don’t go by numbers alone, the second city on the list—London—may beat out the Big Apple because it has a similar number of UNHW second home owners but a much smaller population than NYC.
The Knight Frank Wealth Index also puts NYC at #1, but from there on different metrics are used and the top 5 are skewed.
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#2 London
By Wealth-X’s metrics, London takes second place overall in terms of numbers, and is also runner-up in the investment and future rankings. In Europe, it’s rivalled only by Paris. And Geneva, while it doesn’t make the top 5 list, boasts the “highest density of UHNWI per capita (excluding Monaco)”. Related: India’s Banking Disaster Could Impact The Entire Region
Knight Frank has London in the No. 2 spot overall, but it’s beat out by Los Angeles in terms of the “wealth” category, based on households earning more than $250,000 annually. And San Francisco beats London in the lifestyle category.
#3 Los Angeles
Wealth-X gives L.A. third ranking overall, but Knight Frank gives this spot to San Francisco, and suggests that Hong Kong beats them both in terms of wealth and investment.
#4 Hong Kong
Hong Kong is a king of financial services, tourism, trading, logistics, and professional and producer services—all of which have been driving its economic growth. It takes the number 4 rank on Wealth-X.
#5 Singapore
Knight Frank puts Singapore on par with Chicago overall, but the Asian supercity’s ultra-wealthy population surged to 1,400 individuals last year, up 18 percent from the year before.
Overall, wealth is just unstoppable:
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But there are going to be some newcomers to this list very soon. Both Jakarta and Cairo are expected to see a major increase in wealth over the next five years, with a 24-percent rise in UHNWI by next year and an overall wealth increase of 29 percent.
Dubai is expected to see a massive 60-percent rise in ultra-wealth individuals by 2026 thanks to its growing appeal as a safe-haven location in the Gulf region and its growth as a leading financial and business center for wealth creation, according to Knight Frank.
That’s a rate of growth that far outpaces the Top 5 on this list.
By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com
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