The US dominated the world’s top 20 cities with the most millionaires in 2022, according to research from the Henley & Partners’ Global Citizens Report which tracks private wealth trends worldwide.
New York was top of the list with 345,600 millionaires. San Francisco (third), Los Angeles (sixth), Chicago (seventh), Houston (eighth), and Dallas (18th) also ranked within the top 20.
Houston was the biggest climber, jumping four places since 2021.
Tokyo ranked second with 304,900 high net worth individuals worth over USD$1 million.
London dropped to fourth place having previously been the wealthiest city.
Two Chinese cities made it into the top 10, with Beijing in ninth and Shanghai in 10th. Australia and Switzerland also secured two places each with Sydney (11th), Zurich (15th), Melbourne (17th) and Geneva (19th) all making the list.
Hong Kong was the biggest faller, ranking in 12th compared to eighth last year.
14 of the top 20 cities were in countries that host formal investment migration programmes which actively encourage foreign direct investment in return for residence or citizenship rights.
Dubai, Mumbai and Shenzhen were also cities that grew quickly and were likely to break into the top 20 by 2030, according to Henley & Partners.
Henley & Partners said cities with strong oil and gas industries performed well this year as a result of higher crude prices.
Dr Juerg Steffen, chief executive of Henley & Partners, said: “Cities are centres of opportunity, innovation, prosperity, and culture, and leading capitals perennially attract wealthy families for numerous reasons, from business opportunities to luxury real estate, to top-tier education institutions and world-class private healthcare facilities, to cosmopolitan environments that cannot be found elsewhere.
“More and more HNWI investors are exploring investment migration solutions that offer location fluidity and optionality, enabling them to live and conduct their businesses across a range of different cities and jurisdictions.”