Dubai has most millionaires in Middle East, New York tops global list

Dubai was declared the city with the highest number of millionaires in the Middle East with New York city topping the global list, revealed an annual ranking by Henley & Partners this week.

Henley & Partners, which published the report in partnership with wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth, is a residence and citizenship advisory firm.

Its list, ‘Top 50 Cities for Millionaires’, showed The Bay Area as the second city with the most millionaires (305,700) as it followed New York City which boasts 349,500. Dubai was ranked 21st overall with 72,500 millionaires.

London was placed fifth with 227,000 millionaires followed by Los Angeles (212,100) and Paris (165,000).

Tokyo and Singapore were the top cities in the list from Asia, occupying the third and fourth place, respectively.

Middle East’s wealth

Dubai experienced growth of 78% in its millionaire population over the past 10 years, and also features 212 centi-millionaires and 15 billionaires.

72,500 millionaires: Dubai third-richest city in BRICS

Dubai also saw the second-highest net inflow of millionaires globally in 2023.

The glitzy gulf city was deemed as “highly likely to break into the top 20 in the coming years”, according to a press release issued by the consultancy firm.

Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners, said 7 of the top 10 wealthiest cities in the world are in countries that host investment migration programs that actively encourage foreign direct investment in return for residence or citizenship rights.

“You can secure the right to live, work, study, and invest in leading international wealth hubs such as New York, Singapore, Sydney, Vienna, and Dubai via investment,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.

“Being able to relocate yourself, your family, or your business to a more favorable city or have the option to choose between multiple different cities across the world is an increasingly important aspect of international wealth and legacy planning for private clients.”

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The report also noted that sales of homes valued at $10 million in Dubai nearly doubled in 2023, reaching $7.6 billion and surpassing luxury real estate markets such as London and New York.

China had a notable presence on the top 50 wealthiest cities, with 5 in mainland China making the list.

New Delhi also made the cut in the top 50 with 30,700 millionaires and 16 billionaires.

Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at New World Wealth, noted that Shenzhen was the world’s fastest-growing city for the wealthy, with its millionaire population exploding by 140% in the last ten years.

“Hangzhou has also experienced a massive 125% increase in its HNW residents and Guangzhou’s millionaires have grown by 110% over the past decade,” he was quoted as saying in the press release.

In terms of wealth growth potential over the next decade, Amoils noted cities to watch to include Bengaluru (India), Scottsdale (USA), and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam).

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“All three have enjoyed exceptional growth rates of over 100% in their resident millionaire populations over the past ten years,” he was quoted as saying.