Money
Where the World’s Ultra Rich Population Lives
Where the World’s Ultra Rich Population Lives
We’ve recently broken down data on the global population of millionaires by city, and even the residences of the world’s top 50 billionaires.
But still, there’s something extremely interesting about dissecting the lifestyles of the ultra rich – particularly in looking at where they live, and also how they tend to migrate when local conditions are not conducive to wealth-building or the safety of their fortunes and families.
Ultra Rich: By Region
Today’s infographic comes to us from HowMuch.net, and it breaks down the population of ultra high net worth individuals that have personal wealth levels exceeding the $500 million mark. It uses information from the 2018 edition of the Knight Frank Wealth Report.
First, we’ll look at these totals on a regional level:
Region | Population (>$500M wealth) | % of Global Pop |
---|---|---|
North America | 2,100 | 31.8% |
Asia | 1,860 | 28.1% |
Europe | 1,680 | 25.4% |
Middle East | 280 | 4.2% |
Latin America & Caribbean | 280 | 4.2% |
Russia & CIS | 220 | 3.3% |
Africa | 120 | 1.8% |
Australasia | 70 | 1.1% |
6,610 | 100.0% |
As you can see, the vast amount of half-billionaires are located in North America (31.8%), Asia (28.1%), and Europe (25.4%). That means that fewer than 15% of these ultra rich live in the Middle East, Australasia, Russia & CIS, Latin America, and Africa combined.
Ultra Rich: By Country
Now, we’ll look at the 14 countries that have greater than 100 ultra rich people (>$500 million) as residents:
Rank | Country | Region | Population (>$500M wealth) |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | United States | North America | 1,830 |
#2 | China (Mainland) | Asia | 490 |
#3 | Germany | Europe | 430 |
#4 | Japan | Asia | 390 |
#5 | Hong Kong | Asia | 320 |
#6 | Canada | North America | 270 |
#7 | Switzerland | Europe | 250 |
#8 | France | Europe | 230 |
#9 | Russia & CIS | Russia & CIS | 220 |
#10 | United Kingdom | Europe | 220 |
#11 | India | Asia | 200 |
#12 | Italy | Europe | 160 |
#13 | Brazil | Latin America | 130 |
#14 | Saudi Arabia | Middle East | 120 |
Note: this list excludes second-home owners.
Sitting at the top of the list is the United States with 1,830 people that hold fortunes larger than $500 million. That’s equal to roughly 28% of the global half-billionaire population.
Following the U.S. is China, which counts 810 people as having a wealth over $500 million. These numbers are broken down into Mainland China and Hong Kong on the graph and table, because they were tallied using different sources.
Canada tallies surprisingly high here – the country only ranks #10 globally based on its number of (billionaires), but ranks #6 in terms of half-billionaires with 270 in total.
Lastly, it should be noted that just missing the cut-off on the above list were Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore, three Asian countries that tied with 100 half-billionaires each.
Money
Charted: Which City Has the Most Billionaires in 2024?
Just two countries account for half of the top 20 cities with the most billionaires. And the majority of the other half are found in Asia.
Charted: Which Country Has the Most Billionaires in 2024?
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Some cities seem to attract the rich. Take New York City for example, which has 340,000 high-net-worth residents with investable assets of more than $1 million.
But there’s a vast difference between being a millionaire and a billionaire. So where do the richest of them all live?
Using data from the Hurun Global Rich List 2024, we rank the top 20 cities with the highest number of billionaires in 2024.
A caveat to these rich lists: sources often vary on figures and exact rankings. For example, in last year’s reports, Forbes had New York as the city with the most billionaires, while the Hurun Global Rich List placed Beijing at the top spot.
Ranked: Top 20 Cities with the Most Billionaires in 2024
The Chinese economy’s doldrums over the course of the past year have affected its ultra-wealthy residents in key cities.
Beijing, the city with the most billionaires in 2023, has not only ceded its spot to New York, but has dropped to #4, overtaken by London and Mumbai.
Rank | City | Billionaires | Rank Change YoY |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 🇺🇸 New York | 119 | +1 |
2 | 🇬🇧 London | 97 | +3 |
3 | 🇮🇳 Mumbai | 92 | +4 |
4 | 🇨🇳 Beijing | 91 | -3 |
5 | 🇨🇳 Shanghai | 87 | -2 |
6 | 🇨🇳 Shenzhen | 84 | -2 |
7 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | 65 | -1 |
8 | 🇷🇺 Moscow | 59 | No Change |
9 | 🇮🇳 New Delhi | 57 | +6 |
10 | 🇺🇸 San Francisco | 52 | No Change |
11 | 🇹🇭 Bangkok | 49 | +2 |
12 | 🇹🇼 Taipei | 45 | +2 |
13 | 🇫🇷 Paris | 44 | -2 |
14 | 🇨🇳 Hangzhou | 43 | -5 |
15 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 42 | New to Top 20 |
16 | 🇨🇳 Guangzhou | 39 | -4 |
17T | 🇮🇩 Jakarta | 37 | +1 |
17T | 🇧🇷 Sao Paulo | 37 | No Change |
19T | 🇺🇸 Los Angeles | 31 | No Change |
19T | 🇰🇷 Seoul | 31 | -3 |
In fact all Chinese cities on the top 20 list have lost billionaires between 2023–24. Consequently, they’ve all lost ranking spots as well, with Hangzhou seeing the biggest slide (-5) in the top 20.
Where China lost, all other Asian cities—except Seoul—in the top 20 have gained ranks. Indian cities lead the way, with New Delhi (+6) and Mumbai (+3) having climbed the most.
At a country level, China and the U.S combine to make up half of the cities in the top 20. They are also home to about half of the world’s 3,200 billionaire population.
In other news of note: Hurun officially counts Taylor Swift as a billionaire, estimating her net worth at $1.2 billion.
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