The USA dominates the world’s Top 20 Cities with the Most Millionaires in 2022, with New York taking the crown with 345,600 millionaires, and five other American cities —­­ San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Dallas ­— securing places on the coveted world’s wealthiest cities ranking. Tokyo is in 2^nd place with 304,900 resident high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) worth over USD 1 million, and London, the wealthiest city in the world for many years, drops to 4^th place below the San Francisco Bay Area with just 272,400 resident millionaires, according to the latest Henley Global Citizens Report, which tracks private wealth and investment migration trends worldwide.

Two Chinese cities, Beijing (9^th) and Shanghai (10^th), make it into the Top 10, and Switzerland and Australia each manage to secure two Top 20 city spots, with Sydney (11^th), Zurich (15^th), Melbourne (17^th), and Geneva (19^th) all making the cut. City-state Singapore (5^th), Hong Kong (SAR China) (12^th), Frankfurt (13^th), Toronto (14^th), Seoul (16^th), and finally Paris — plummeting 3 places since last year to scrape in at 20^th position — make up the rest of the 2022 ranking. Houston is the biggest climber, jumping up 4 places since 2021, and Hong Kong is the biggest faller, crashing down 4 places from 8^th place last year.

The Henley Global Citizens Report released last year by Henley & Partners features exclusive data from the global wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth, and reveals the world’s 20 wealthiest cities with the most resident millionaires (namely, individuals with wealth of USD 1 million or more), as well as the five wealthiest cities in each major region, and the 25 fastest growing cities in the world in terms of millionaire growth in the six months to 30 June 2022 (year-to-date).

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 23^rd 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 25^th 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 30^th, 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.”