Here is a list of the world’s top ten wealthiest and richest cities, according to data released by Henley and Partners.
By: Lorne Philpot
The world has some very rich people. They are concentrated in a number of major centres across the globe.
Henley and Partners have released a list (based on figures dated 31 December 2022) of where they are concentrated.
Millionaires or high-net-worth individuals refer to individuals with investable wealth of USD 1 million (R 18m) or more.
The USA and China dominate the list, with only one European city entering the top ten.
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WORLD’S TOP WEALTHIEST CITIES
1. New York, USA
2. Tokyo, Japan
3. The Bay Area, California, USA
4. London, UK
5. Singapore
6. Los Angeles, USA
7. Hong Kong
8. Beijing, China
9. Shanghai, China
10. Sydney, Australia
NEW YORK
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).
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 the Top 10 list.
THE BAY AREA
The Bay Area, which includes San Francisco and Silicon Valley, is home to 285 000 millionaires, 629 centi-millionaires and a high number of billionaires.
Most of the world’s top tech companies are based in the Bay Area. This includes Adobe, Apple, Cisco, Facebook (Meta), Google (Alphabet), HP, Intel, LinkedIn, Lyft, Netflix, OpenAI, PayPal, Twitter, Uber, Yahoo, and Zoom.
SOUTH AFRICA
While South Africa (with 37 800 USD millionaires) has Africa’s largest number of USD millionaires, SA has nowhere near the wealth of the world’s top richest cities.
Between 2012 and 2022, the number of South African millionaires declined from 47 800 to 37 800.
The loss of 10 000 HNWIs equates to a 21% decline in high-net-worth-individuals (HNWIs) for South Africa.
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RICHEST CITIES IN AFRICA
While SA has Africa’s most USD millionaires (based mainly in Johannesburg and Cape Town) other cities on the continent are seeing a rise in the number of millionaires.
Henley and Partners state that two African cities have seen robust wealth growth over the last decade (2012 to 2022).
MARRAKESH
Marrakesh in Morocco has become an increasingly popular retirement hotspot for Moroccan and European high-net-worth individuals.
Marrakech is home to flourishing luxury real estate and hotel sectors.
KIGALI
Kigali, the economic center of Rwanda is emerging as a burgeoning tech and financial hub.
Rwanda was Africa’s fastest-growing market over the past decade, both in terms of millionaire growth and overall wealth growth.
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