We currently have a record number of millionaires in the world, who have an estimated combined wealth of over $63.5 trillion. The growing ranks of millionaires and billionaires now hold almost half of global personal wealth. But have you ever wondered which cities are most attractive to the world’s millionaires?
RS Components, a multi-million pound company in its own right, has created a content piece that reveals the cities around the world with the most millionaires per square mile. You can view the full content piece here.
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Ranking in at first position is Geneva with 16, 958 millionaires per square mile – the highest number of millionaires per square mile in the world. With a backdrop of Swiss mountain range the Alps, Geneva was ranked as the 6th most expensive city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living Survey this year, suggesting it may be useful to be a millionaire in this city. However, whilst the cost of living in Geneva is one of the highest, their workers are also the highest paid, according to a recent survey by UBS.
In second place, with 13,400 millionaires per square mile, is Monaco. A staggering 1,210 of the total millionaires in Monaco are worth over $30 million. Located on the French Mediterranean coast, Monaco has long been known as home to the elite and a millionaire’s playground. The allure of the pint-sized country comes in many forms: the principality has its own Royal family, a place where the day-to-day pastimes include motor racing and yachting, and helicopters are used as taxis to travel around. Another lure to the principality for millionaires? Residents of Monaco are under no obligation to pay income tax, with the personal income tax and capital tax being abolished in 1869. However, with an estimated 2,700 more millionaires hoping to claim a piece of this diminutive country for themselves in the next 10 years, Monaco may soon run out of space for its millionaires.
American tech hub San Francisco was revealed as third spot in the rankings, with 3,847 millionaires per square mile, beating New York (9th place) and Miami (10th place – meaning a total of 3 major US cities are in the top 10). Of the 3,847 millionaires based in San Francisco Bay Area, 74 of these are worth over $30 million. According to investment banking company Credit Suisse, the US currently accounts for 41% of the world’s millionaires, and “the number of UHNW individuals with wealth above USD 50 million is about four times that of the next country, China.”
This may not come as a surprise since the Silicon Valley is home some of the biggest companies in the world, including Facebook, Apple, Tesla, Uber and Google. Its technology fuelled economy, has resulted in the San Francisco Bay Area being home to tech billionaires such as Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Zurich (3,218 per square mile), Paris (2,725 per square mile), and Frankfurt (1,338 per square mile) are amongst the other cities with the largest number of millionaires per square mile.
With 357,200 millionaires living in the ‘Big Smoke’, London has the most millionaires of all the cities. Edinburgh also has a somewhat surprising 276 millionaires per square mile, equalling a total of 28,100 for the capital of Scotland, suggesting that the UK may be a hotspot for the wealthy.
However, this may not be the case for much longer. According to analysis by consultancy New World Wealth, the wealthy are leaving the UK for countries such as Australia, Portugal, Switzerland and the US, due to reasons such as high inheritance taxes and Brexit. The research revealed that 4,000 high net worth individuals left the UK last year, reversing the 30 year trend of the UK as a hotspot for millionaires.
These cities are hubs for business and social activities so it’s no surprise that the world’s wealthiest people have decided to settle here. If you were a millionaire, which one of these cities would you choose to live?
