Headlines
April 12, 2025

New York, San Francisco remain world wealthiest cities

New York, San Francisco remain world wealthiest cities
New York, San Francisco remain world wealthiest cities

The United States continues to dominate, with 11 cities on the Top 50 Cities for Millionaires list in the latest World’s Wealthiest Cities Report 2025 ranking, led by New York in 1st place with 384,500 high-net-worth individuals (including 818 resident centi-millionaires and 66 billionaires).

According to the 4th edition of the annual report published by Henley & Partners and New World Wealth, the Bay Area (San Francisco and Silicon Valley), in 2nd place with 342,400 resident millionaires, is now home to more billionaires (82) than the Big Apple and continues to thrive as the epicenter of technological wealth creation, enjoying exceptional millionaire growth of 98% over the past decade.

Of the top 50 cities, only Shenzhen (in 28th place, with 142% millionaire growth, and now home to 50,800 millionaires), Hangzhou (35th, with 108% growth and 32,200 millionaires), and Dubai (18th with 102%) grew faster than the Bay Area between 2014 and 2024. Dubai (now boasting 81,200 resident millionaires) also takes the prize for the biggest climber in the Top 50 over the past year, moving from 21st to 18th place. Seoul is the biggest faller, dropping to 24th place from 19th last year.

Tokyo solidifies its position in 3rd place with 292,300 millionaires, followed by Singapore in 4th place with 242,400 resident millionaires.

London and Moscow are the biggest losers
Los Angeles (220,600 millionaires, including 516 centis and 45 billionaires) has now overtaken London to claim the 5th spot, pushing the UK capital out of the Top 5 to 6th place with just 215,700 millionaires (including 352 centi-millionaires and 33 billionaires). London and Moscow (which ranks 40th, with 30,000 millionaires, including 178 centis and 23 billionaires) are the only two cities in the Top 50 that have recorded negative growth over the past decade, with their millionaire populations declining by -12% and -25%, respectively.

Paris (160,100 millionaires) clings onto 7th place, while Hong Kong (154,900 millionaires), now in 8th position, usurps Sydney (152,900 millionaires), pushing it down into 9th place. Chicago (127,100) leapfrogs over both Beijing (which drops two places from 10th to 12th, now with 114,300 millionaires) and Shanghai (down three places from 11th to 14th with 110,500 millionaires) to claim a place in the Top 10 for the first time. Lisbon (50th with 22,200 millionaires) makes its debut on the Top 50 list, with Auckland dropping off.

Fastest growing wealth hubs over the past decade
Besides Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Dubai, other cities on the World’s Fastest Growing Wealth Hubs list which have more than doubled their resident millionaire populations over the past 10 years, include US cities Scottsdale (125% growth) and West Palm Beach (+112%) and the “Silicon Valley of India”, Bengaluru (+120%). Three other American cities — Miami (+94%) whose residents enjoy Florida’s low state taxes, the US capital Washington DC (+92%), and Austin (+90%), dubbed “Silicon Hills” — have also seen notably high growth between 2014 and 2024, as have Polish capital Warsaw (+83% in resident millionaires), Emirati capital Abu Dhabi (+80%), and Riyadh (+65%), the capital city of Saudi Arabia.

Centi city hotspots over the next decade
Looking beyond the established wealth centers, the report also benchmarks wealth in over 100 Centi-Millionaire Hotspots worldwide, with a special spotlight on cities with high growth potential over the next decade (2025 to 2035) to reveal the emerging new geography of super-wealth.

Dubai (currently home to 237 centis) and Abu Dhabi (75 resident centis) lead the pack, with both Emirati cities projected to see their centi-millionaire populations more than double over the next 10 years. Explosive 100%+ growth is also forecast for Delhi (125 centi-millionaires) and Bengaluru (43) in India, and Warsaw (32 centis) and Athens (42 centis) in Europe

Smaller cities providing targeted investment migration pathways, including St. Julian’s and Sliema in Malta (40 centis), Lugano in Switzerland (40 centis), and Latvia’s Riga & Jūrmala (11 centis), are all forecast to see 100%+ growth rates in their centi-millionaire populations by 2035. And while no African or Central American cities make it into the Top 50, George Town and Seven Mile Beach in the Cayman Islands (currently home to 40 centis), San José & Santa Ana (17 centis) in Costa Rica, St. George’s Parish (25 centis) and Hamilton Parish (22 centis) in Bermuda, Monterrey (10) in Mexico, Panama City (21 centis), South Africa’s Cape Town (34 centis), Morocco’s Marrakesh (14 centis), and Kenya’s Nairobi (10 centis) are all forecast to see +100% growth in their super-wealthy communities before 2035.

Related Post