The United States continues to dominate the ranking of the 50 richest cities in the world according to the World's Wealthiest Cities Report 2025. It features 11 American cities at once.
According to the fourth edition of the annual report published by Henley & Partners, specialists in international capital migration and investments, in collaboration with New World Wealth, an international data analysis company, New York ranks first in the ranking with 384,500 wealthy people. Among them are 818 millionaires with a capital of over $100 million and 66 billionaires.
In second place was the San Francisco Bay Area, which includes the city of San Francisco and Silicon Valley. 342.4 thousand millionaires and 82 billionaires live there. The region remains a center of technological wealth creation, with a 98% increase in the number of millionaires over the past decade.
Of the 50 richest cities, only Shenzhen is in 28th place with an increase in the number of millionaires by 142% and 50.8 thousand millionaires, Hangzhou is in 35th place with an increase of 108% and 32.2 thousand millionaires, and Dubai is in 18th place with an increase of 102% from 2014 to 2024. they grew faster than the San Francisco Bay Area. Dubai, which is now home to 81.2 thousand millionaires, including 237 millionaires with a capital of over $100 million and 20 billionaires, took the first place in terms of growth out of the top 50 over the past year, rising from 21st to 18th place.
Tokyo, thanks to the significant growth of the Nikkei 225 index over the past two years, has consolidated into third place with 292.3 thousand millionaires living in the city. It is followed by Singapore in 4th place with 242.4 millionaires.
London and Moscow lost the most
Los Angeles, with 220,600 millionaires, including 516 millionaires with a capital of over $100 million and 45 billionaires, overtook London and took 5th place, displacing the capital of Great Britain from the top five. 215.7 thousand millionaires live in London, including 352 millionaires with a capital of over $100 million and 33 billionaires. London and Moscow, which ranks 40th with 30,000 millionaires, including 178 millionaires with a capital of over $100 million and 23 billionaires, are the only two cities in the top 50 that have seen negative growth over the past decade: the number of millionaires there has decreased by -12% and -25%, respectively.
Paris holds the 7th place with 160.1 thousand millionaires, while Hong Kong with 154.9 thousand millionaires, which is now in 8th place, is ahead of Sydney with 152.9 thousand millionaires, which dropped to 9th place.
Chicago, with 127.1 thousand millionaires, was ahead of Beijing, which dropped from 10th to 12th place, with 114.3 thousand millionaires. Shanghai dropped from 11th to 14th place and has 110.5 thousand millionaires and entered the top ten for the first time. Milan is in 11th place with 115,000 millionaires, Vancouver is in 29th place with 46.4 thousand millionaires, Miami is in 32nd place with 38.8 thousand millionaires, Hangzhou is in 35th place with 32.2 thousand millionaires. Lisbon debuted on the 50th line with 22.2 thousand millionaires, while Auckland dropped out of the ranking.
Jürg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, notes that there is a clear trend in 2025: cities where investment freedom is combined with lifestyle benefits are winning the competition for mobile capital. They are distinguished by a reliable legal framework, a well-developed financial infrastructure and developed investment migration programs, which attracts wealthy people. Seven of the ten richest cities are located in countries with investment residence permit programs, which allows entrepreneurs and investors to move there.
In addition to Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Dubai, the list of the fastest growing financial centers in the world, where the number of resident millionaires has more than doubled over the past 10 years, includes the US cities of Scottsdale (+125% growth) and West Palm Beach (+112%), as well as the "Indian Silicon Valley Bangalore (+120%). Three American cities, Miami (+94%), whose residents enjoy low taxes from the state of Florida, Washington D.C., the capital of the United States (+92%) and Austin (+90%), which is called the "Silicon Hills", also saw significant growth between 2014 and 2024. Over the past decade, the number of millionaire residents has grown in Warsaw, the capital of Poland (+83%), Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (+80%), and Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia (+65%).
The hot spots of the next decade - megacities for millionaires
In addition to the recognized wealth centers, the report also provides data on wealth in more than 100 cities with more than a million inhabitants worldwide. Special attention is being paid to cities with high growth potential over the next decade.
Dubai, which is currently home to 237 millionaires with a сapital of over $100 million, and Abu Dhabi, with 75 millionaires with a capital of over $100 million, are leading the list of financial centers with high growth potential. According to forecasts, the number of millionaires in both UAE cities will more than double over the next 10 years. This shift in the distribution of wealth in the Middle East reflects the region's strategic turn towards global financial centers, coupled with zero income and capital gains taxes.
A sharp increase of 100% or more is also predicted for Delhi (125 millionaires with a capital of over $100 million) and Bangalore (43 millionaires with a capital of over $100 million), which indicates the maturity of India's technological ecosystem and the emergence of a new generation of digital entrepreneurs. Similar trends are expected in fast-growing European centers such as Warsaw and Athens.
As Dominik Volek, the Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partnerss, notes, forecasts of growth of 100% or more in cities offering residence and citizenship under investment programs are not accidental. According to him, billionaires plan their geographical presence with the same strategic care with which they approach their investment portfolios. They are diversifying their presence across multiple jurisdictions to reduce risks and maximize opportunities. Official investment migration channels create systematic entry routes to rapidly developing regions, allowing forward-thinking people and their family members to stay in an environment designed to preserve and increase personal capital.
The most expensive cities in the world
Monaco is arguably the world's best megacity for the super-rich, with an average wealth of over $20 million. It is also the richest city in the world in terms of wealth per capita. More than 40% of the inhabitants of the Mediterranean principality are millionaires - this is the highest figure among the cities of the world. It also ranks first in the list of the most expensive cities in the world, where prices for apartments ranging from 100 to 200 m2 exceed $38.8 thousand per m2.
New York ranks second with an average price for luxury real estate of $27.5 thousand per m2. It is followed by Hong Kong with $26.3 thousand per m2 and London with $24 thousand per m2. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in France ranks fifth in the ranking of the most expensive cities with $21.2 thousand per m2, while Paris ranks sixth with $20.4 thousand per m2.
Among the countries, France boasts the largest number of cities (six, including Paris, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Nice, Cannes, Antibes and Eze) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world this year, followed by the United States (four cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Palm Beach and Miami Beach), as well as Switzerland (Geneva and Lugano) and Italy (Portofino and Porto Cervo).
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