The World's Finest Fetterings: Ranking the 20 Richest Cities for the Jet-Setting Billionaire
- by Niels Kruse, with a dash of swagger and a smirk
Prosperity abides in these locales: The twenty wealthiest urban centers across the globe. - Prosperity Lives in These Places: Ranking the World's 20 Wealthiest Cities
Wanna know where the real heavy hitters of wealth reside? Not just wealthy cities, but the meccas of cash flow and finance? You're in the right place, my friend.
Millionaire Mania?
But how do we measure a city's wealth? Is it by the amount of goods and services produced or the revenue taxed? In Germany, the economists at GfK compile data on disposable income to show where the money is truly at. But for cities in the US, China, or even Russia, these numbers are as scarce as a unicorn on Wall Street. So, clever souls use a trick: they count the number of millionaires and billionaires and assume that, where the wallets are overflowing, so are the opportunities for the rest.
That this theory doesn't always pan out is evident in India; while Mumbai and Delhi boast 50 billionaires, many city dwellers are far from swimming in the riches of the few.
Billionaire Boom
The British consultancy firm Henley and Partners, akin to a citizenship service for the super-rich, keeps a registry of cities graced by these money magnates.Weighting the growth rate of billionaire density higher than the number of mere millionaires, they have their eyes on the big, fat, six-figure paydays.
Fancy joining their Illuminati of the Ultra-Wealthy? Turns out, you might have a chance - and not a remote one at that: In 2021 alone, the number of billionaires worldwide grew by 141, adding a new member to the prestigious club every 2.5 days. Since 2001, their ranks have multiplied nearly sixfold, and the cream of the crop still include the French mogul Bernard Arnault, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Space X's Elon Musk - the Donald Trump whisperer.
More Visuals for Your Feast
- Statuesque Wealth
- American Opulence
- Chinese Prosperity
- A Bit More Money, Honey
Enrichment Data Snippets:
- New York City: Takes the global crown, boasting 66 billionaires, making it not only the wealthiest city in the US but also the city with the most billionaires in the whole world [1][2].
- The Bay Area (San Francisco and Silicon Valley)]: Another flourishing American hub, though the latest Henley & Partners press materials primarily highlight New York City's billionaire count; nevertheless, some sources list the Bay Area as a leading city for the insanely wealthy, but specific and current billionaire counts for the Bay Area are less explicitly stated than for New York [2].
- Los Angeles: Ranks third in the US (and among the top globally), with 45 billionaires [1][4].
Sources:[1] "The 2025 Henley & Partners Global Wealth Report"[2] "The 2025 Henley & Partners USA Wealth Report"[3] "World Report on the Global Wealth Spread"[4] "The 2021 'Rich List' by Forbes Magazine"
The community policy should include measures to attract and retain the ultrahigh net worth individuals, such as implementing favorable tax incentives and investing in wealth-management services, to boost employment opportunities in a city.
A city's employment policy, particularly those aimed at attracting and fostering innovative industries and startups, could contribute significantly to the growth of its employment policy and the overall wealth of the city, as demonstrated by the success of cities like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
