City Wealth Index 2020: where do the wealthy want to live?
Reflecting the ongoing unpredictability and turbulence engulfing the world we have, for the first time, a tie at the top of our City Wealth Index.
2 minutes to read
At a glance:
- London and New York sit together at the top of the index
- North American cities occupy seven of the slots and Asian cities five
- New York led the investment category due to the high number of top global firms headquartered there as well as strong domestic investment
- For lifestyle, while London still led, Paris is hot on its heels
From the number of UHNWIs to high-end retail, here we explore where the wealthy live, invest and spend.
In 2020, we may have seen a temporary exodus from cities during the initial round of Covid-19 lockdowns, but it was just that – temporary. Across the 100 cities we analyse for our City Wealth Index there are numerous reasons, in terms of their wealth, investment and lifestyle offerings, why UHNWIs are still choosing to spend time in urban areas.
For the first time we cannot separate London and New York, which sit together at the top of the index. Asian cities are led by Tokyo in fourth and Hong Kong in fifth place.
European cities are the overall leaders this year, claiming eight of the top 20 spots, largely driven by high rankings for investment and lifestyle. North American cities occupy seven of the slots and Asian cities five.
"US$4bn - Cross-border private investment in London in the 12 months to September 2020"
In the wealth category, which measures the number of UHNWI and HNWI city dwellers, the US clearly dominates. In terms of UHNWIs New York leads, with 7,743 individuals with a net worth in excess of US$30 million in residence. Look at the number of HNWIs, however, and it is London that leads with 874,354 millionaires – creating a tie.
New York led the investment category due to the high number of top global firms headquartered there as well as strong domestic investment. It was London, though, that saw the highest levels of cross-border capital from the widest range of different countries invested in real estate over the 12 months to September 2020.
Paris, Amsterdam, Munich and Madrid all ranked within the top ten. Amsterdam ranked joint second highest for diversity of investors and seventh for cross- border investment.
"7,743 - UHNWIs who call New York home"
For lifestyle, while London still led, Paris was hot on its heels. This year, in addition to our usual measures of top universities, Michelin-starred restaurants, five-star hotels and airline connectivity, we have added the number of high-end retail outlets for selected brands using data provided by marketing agency ClaraVista. For this new measure, Paris was in second place after Hong Kong.
Sydney, Australasia’s strongest performer, ranked third highest for top universities, but scored less well for connectivity with fewer flight destinations.