HONG KONG NOW HAS MORE MEGA-MILLIONAIRES THAN NEW YORK CITY

• Hong Kong has officially surpassed New York City as the place with the highest concentration of super-wealthy people.
• Hong Kong has seen a 31% increase in the number of ultra-rich residents worth at least $US30 million, according to a new report from the data firm, Wealth-X.
• Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Paris were among the top-ranked cities, but major US cities largely dominated the list.
• Property prices in Hong Kong have increased to reflect the growing wealth of its residents, though the country is in the midst of a housing crisis with limited zoning allocated for residential development.

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

Hong Kong has seen a 31% increase in the number of ultra-rich residents worth at least $US30 million, according to a report released Thursday from the data firm, Wealth-X. The region had just over 10,000 residents who fall into the “ultra-high net-worth” category, compared to roughly 9,000 ultra-high net-worth people in New York City.

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 $US31.5 trillion.

A majority of the super-rich made between $US30-$US100 million, while more than 2,700 people – or roughly one per cent – made $US1 billion or more last year. Women accounted for nearly 14% of ultra-high net-worth individuals, a record high for the group.

Asia saw the fastest growth of mega-millionaires, driven mainly by Hong Kong and mainland China. According to 2017 estimates, one in seven people in Hong Kong is a millionaire.

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