The Q3 Henley Global Citizens Report recently released by leading international residents and citizens by investment advisory firm Henley & Partners features exclusive data from the global wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth. It reveals the world’s 20 wealthiest cities with the most resident millionaires (namely, individuals with a 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).
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 2nd 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 4th 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.
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 Montenegro Citizenship by Investment Program is placed second overall for applications processed by Henley & Partners between January and June 2022, making it the most sought-after citizenship by investment program globally, and together with Portugal, indicating the strong pull of the European programs as a Plan B for most global investors.
Dr Steffen agrees, saying, “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. The millionaire populations of Dubai, Mumbai, and Shenzhen are growing quickly.
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. “Viewing these cities and regions through the lens of the 2021 IMD-SUTD Smart City Index (SCI) data while focusing on pertinent aspects of quality of life such as governance, inclusiveness, talent development, entrepreneurship, public safety, healthcare, the environment, and cultural and leisure activities, provides fascinating insights into where they are succeeding, and what could be drawing investors to congregate in certain metropolises.” Commenting on the city wealth data in the latest Henley Global Citizens Report, Dr José Caballero, Senior Economist at the IMD World Competitiveness Center in Switzerland, says the quality of life is a fundamental driver of global mobility. For business executives, high living standards and effective institutions are significant drawcards.
The Henley Global Citizens Report also features regional insights by investment migration and private wealth industry leaders representing seven key markets: the Americas, Europe and the UK, Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania. As Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private Clients, points out, more HNWIs are turning to residence and citizenship by investment programs to protect their family’s security and shield their wealth and legacies from ongoing regional and global issues volatility.
Being able to relocate yourself, your family, or your business to a more favourable 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.” Currently ranked 30th, 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.
Cities continue to draw global investors.
More and more HNWI investors are exploring investment migration solutions offering location fluidity and optionality, enabling them to live and conduct their businesses across various cities and jurisdictions.”
Dubai, Mumbai, and Shenzhen – are the wealthiest cities of the future.
Two Chinese cities, Beijing (9th) and Shanghai (10th), make it into the Top 10, and Switzerland and Australia each manage to secure two Top 20 city spots, with Sydney (11th), Zurich (15th), Melbourne (17th), and Geneva (19th) all cutting.
Mumbai has 60,600 resident millionaires, 243 centi-millionaires, and 30 billionaires and ranks 25th globally.
Amoils says cities with strong oil and gas industries are performing especially well this year, including Riyadh, Sharjah, Luanda, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Lagos.
Relentless uncertainty fuels demand for investment migration.
City-state Singapore (5th), Hong Kong (SAR China) (12th), Frankfurt (13th), Toronto (14th), Seoul (16th), and finally Paris — plummeting three places since last year to scrape in at 20th position — make up the rest of the 2022 ranking.
Portugal’s Golden Residence Permit Program remains the top spot regarding applications processed and enquiries received by Henley & Partners in the first six months of 2022. According to the latest data in the Henley Global Citizens Report, Lisbon is also a high-growth millionaire up-and-coming wealth hub that is fast becoming a popular destination for affluent families from Brazil, China, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, and the USA, as well as from the rest of Europe. The next three programs in the top five for applications in the first six months of 2022 are all affordable citizenship by investment options hosted by Caribbean island nations — namely, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Lucia.
“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. Dubai currently ranks 23rd 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. “At Henley & Partners, Q2 2022 has been unparalleled in terms of program applications, with the highest number on record and growth of 45% compared to Q1 and 30% compared to Q2 2021. Montenegro’s popular program closes in December this year and requires a minimum investment of EUR 250,000 in approved real estate projects and a donation of EUR 200,000 to the country.
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. Portugal is the perfect solution for those on a quest for a cosmopolitan lifestyle in an affordable EU member state, with its flexible Golden Residence Permit program and favourable non-habitual-resident tax scheme.” The megacity is home to the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, which rank among the world’s ten largest stock exchanges by market cap. Other interesting cities on the fastest-growing list include Lugano, an increasingly popular Swiss hotspot for affluent retirees from Europe. Hangzhou, one of the most scenic cities in China, is another wealth magnet to watch.”
Houston is the biggest climber, jumping up four places since 2021, and Hong Kong is the biggest faller, crashing down four places from 8th place last year. 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. As Montenegro is an official EU candidate country that looks set to join the Bloc as early as 2025, the program has received substantial interest from forward-looking investors. “This is mainly due to stock market rises in these markets and a big increase in Brent crude prices.
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