The Briefing
- An Ultra-High Net Worth (UHNW) individual is anyone with more than $30 million in net worth
- In 2019, there were 290,720 UHNW people worldwide. Their combined wealth exceeded $35 trillion
- That’s approximately $10 trillion more than America’s current GDP, controlled by a population that’s roughly the size of Pittsburgh
Where in the World Do the Ultra-Wealthy Live?
A significant portion of the world’s wealth is in the hands (or bank accounts, rather) of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals.
And just like their wealth, these UHNW people are concentrated in a small, select number of cities across the globe.
But where, exactly, can you find these ultra-wealthy people? Using data from Wealth-X, here’s a look at the top 10 cities with the highest UHNW populations:
| Rank | City | UNHW Population (2019) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | 10,435 |
| 2 | Hong Kong | 9,950 |
| 3 | Tokyo | 7,800 |
| 4 | Los Angeles | 6,150 |
| 5 | Paris | 4,670 |
| 6 | London | 4,535 |
| 7 | Chicago | 3,890 |
| 8 | San Francisco | 3,410 |
| 9 | Washington, DC | 3,230 |
| 10 | Dallas | 3,165 |
It’s worth noting that six of the top 10 UHNW cities are in America. This may not be surprising, considering the U.S. is the world’s largest wealth market—it holds over 29% of the world’s wealth.
Where are the German and Chinese Cities?
Something else worth noting is the absence of German and Chinese cities, which is surprising given they both made the top 5 UHNW populations when it came to country rankings:
| Rank | Country | UHNW Population (2019) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇺🇸 United States | 93,790 |
| 2 | 🇨🇳 China | 27,755 |
| 3 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 19,820 |
| 4 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 15,960 |
| 5 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 11,285 |
Why didn’t Germany or China make the cut? While these countries have strong economies overall, private wealth is more evenly dispersed across their urban centers compared to other countries.
On a final note, it’s important to mention that this data is from 2019, before the global pandemic. And since the UHNW populations haven’t been immune to the economic impact of COVID-19, it’ll be interesting to see which cities make the rankings next year, based on 2020 figures.
» Interested in global wealth and its distribution worldwide? Take a deep dive into global wealth with this article: Mapped: The World’s Ultra-Rich, by Country
Where does this data come from?
Source: Wealth-X World Ultra Wealth Report 2020
Note: Though this data is from the report released in October 2020, it is a snapshot of the global UHNWI population in 2019.
