Canada’s commercial heart Toronto has found a place in the world’s 15-most wealthy cities, according to a new report.
The USA dominated the world’s top-20 cities with the most millionaires in 2022 list. New York took the crown with 345,600 millionaires, and five other American cities — San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Dallas — secured places on the world’s wealthiest cities ranking.
London, the wealthiest city in the world for many years, dropped to fourth place with just 272,400 resident millionaires, according to the latest Henley Global Citizens Report, which tracks private wealth and investment migration trends worldwide.
The rankings are:
1. New York
2. Tokyo
3. San Francisco Bay Area
4. London
5. Singapore
6. Los Angeles and Malibu
7. Chicago
8. Houston
9. Beijing
10. Shanghai
11. Sydney
12. Hong Kong
13. Frankfurt
14. Toronto
15. Zurich
16. Seoul
17. Melbourne
18. Dallas and Fort Worth
19. Geneva
20. Paris
Paris moved down three places since last year. Houston was the biggest climber, jumping up four places since 2021, and Hong Kong was the biggest faller, crashing down four places.
Dr. Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, points out that 14 of the Top 20 wealthiest cities in the world are in countries that host formal investment migration programs and actively encourage foreign direct investment in return for residence or citizenship rights.
“The right to live, work, study, and invest in leading international wealth hubs such as New York, London, Singapore, Sydney, and Toronto can be secured via residence by investment. Individuals of talent and means should not limit their lives and business interests to one country. Being able to relocate yourself, your family, or your business to a more favorable city or have the option to choose between multiple different residences across the world is an increasingly important aspect of international wealth and legacy planning for private clients.”
Dubai, Mumbai, and Shenzhen – the wealthiest cities of the future
The millionaire populations of Dubai, Mumbai, and Shenzhen are growing quickly, and these three cities are expected to break into the top 20 wealthiest cities by 2030, according to Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at New World Wealth. Dubai currently ranks 23rd globally and is already home to 67,900 millionaires, 202 centi-millionaires (those with net assets of USD 100 million or more), and 13 billionaires. The emirate has a highly diversified economy, which is strong in multiple key sectors including basic materials, hotels, financial services, oil and gas, real estate, retail, and transport. Affluent parts of Dubai include Emirates Hills, Jumeirah Golf Estates, and the Palm Jumeirah.
Mumbai has 60,600 resident millionaires, 243 centi-millionaires, and 30 billionaires, and ranks 25th globally. The megacity is home to the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, both of which rank among the world’s 10 largest stock exchanges by market cap. Currently ranked 30th, Shenzhen is home to 43,600 millionaires, and is widely seen as the hi-tech capital of China and home to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange — the seventh-largest stock market in the world by market cap. Major companies based in the city include Huawei, Tencent, and ZTE.
Amoils says cities with strong oil and gas industries are performing especially well this year, including the likes of Riyadh, Sharjah, Luanda, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Lagos. “This is mainly due to stock market rises in these markets and a big increase in Brent crude prices. Other interesting cities on the fastest-growing list include Lugano, an increasingly popular Swiss hotspot for affluent retirees from Europe. Bengaluru, known as the ‘Garden City’ and the ‘Silicon Valley of India’ is also gaining millionaires due to its rapidly growing IT, biotechnology, and business process outsourcing sectors. Hangzhou, one of the most scenic cities in China, is another wealth magnet to watch.”