Hong Kong surpasses New York for the number of UHNWIs

Hong Kong surpasses New York as home to the largest cluster of UHNWIs

Hong Kong has officially surpassed New York City as the place with the highest concentration of super wealthy people.

Hong Kong’s population of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI) worth at least $30 million jumped 31% last year to 10,010. New York was second at 8,865, an increase of only 7%, according to a new report from ultra high net worth intelligence and data company Wealth-X.

Hong Kong’s super-rich, particularly those with above $30m in net worth, now have a combined wealth of close to $1.3trn.

Tokyo, Los Angeles, London, and Paris were also among the top 10 cities on the list.

Globally, the number of ultra-wealthy people rose by 13% in 2017, totaling over 250,000. According to the data, that cohort has a combined net worth of $31.5trn.

“Hong Kong’s rise in terms of the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals is mainly because of its trade and investment links to China’s mainland, where new, self-made wealth is growing at the fastest pace,” said the head of Wealth-X Institute Vincent White.

The report found that the world’s ultra-rich held more of their wealth (some 35%) in liquid assets such as cash. Private holdings accounted for about 32%, while public holdings stood at 26%. Alternative investments such as real estate, art and yachts made up 6.6% of total assets.

Wealth-X also said that 35,000 women made the ultra-rich list last year, accounting for a record-high share of nearly 14%. The report forecasts that in the next four years “Asia is expected to experience the strongest growth” in the world among those worth $30m or more.

By 2022 the region is expected to have 108,000 ultra-high-net-worth individuals, growing by 50%. North America will grow by less than a third over that time period, to 132,000.

A majority of the super-rich made between $30m-$100m, while more than 2,700 people — or roughly one percent — made $1bn or more last year.

Here’s the world’s top 10:

  1. Hong Kong
  2. New York
  3. Tokyo
  4. Los Angeles
  5. Paris
  6. London
  7. Chicago
  8. San Francisco
  9. Washington DC
  10. Osaka

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