Dubai is home to 81,200 resident millionaires, including 237 centimillionaires and 20 billionaires, according to Henley & Partners’ latest World’s Wealthiest Cities Report 2025 ranking. Dubai recorded a 102 percent growth in the number of millionaires between 2014 and 2024, ranking this year the 18th city on the list of the Top 50 Cities for Millionaires.
The city also takes the prize for the biggest climber in the top 50 over the past year, moving from 21st to 18th place.
Dubai, currently home to 237 centis, and Abu Dhabi, with 75 resident centis, lead the pack of anticipated high-growth centers, with both Emirati cities projected to see their centi-millionaire populations more than double over the next 10 years. This Middle East wealth shift reflects the region’s strategic pivot towards becoming global financial centers, combined with zero income and capital gains taxes.
U.S. cities dominate rankings
The U.S. continues to dominate, with 11 cities on the Top 50 Cities for Millionaires list in the latest World’s Wealthiest Cities Report 2025 ranking, led by New York in 1st place with 384,500 high-net-worth individuals, including 818 resident centi-millionaires with a liquid investable wealth of $100 million or more, and 66 billionaires.
Notably, the Bay Area, which includes San Francisco and Silicon Valley, in 2nd place with 342,400 resident millionaires, is now home to more billionaires than the Big Apple and continues to thrive as the epicenter of technological wealth creation, enjoying exceptional millionaire growth of 98 percent over the past decade.
Of the top 50 cities, only Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Dubai grew faster than the Bay Area between 2014 and 2024. Shenzhen came in 28th place, with 142 percent millionaire growth, and is now home to 50,800 millionaires. Meanwhile, Hangzhou ranked 35th globally, with 108 percent growth and 32,200 millionaires.
This year, Seoul is the biggest faller, dropping to 24th place from 19th last year. Meanwhile, Tokyo, fueled by a strong recovery of the Nikkei 225 over the past two years, solidified its position in 3rd place with 292,300 millionaires in residence, followed by Singapore in 4th place with 242,400 millionaires.
“Asia’s top tech hub, Shenzhen is the base city for global tech giants Huawei, Tencent, BYD, DJI and ZTE and has experienced especially strong wealth growth over the past 20 years. It is now arguably the world’s leading city in a number of key tech sub-sectors, including computer hardware, electric vehicles, Wi-Fi dongles, mobile phones, flying drones, 5G, energy units and electronics,” stated Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth.
Los Angeles overtakes London
Los Angeles has now overtaken London to claim the 5th spot, pushing the U.K. capital out of the Top 5 to 6th place with just 215,700 millionaires. London and Moscow, which ranks 40th globally, are the only two cities in the top 50 that have recorded negative growth over the past decade, with their millionaire populations declining by 12 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
Paris remained in 7th place this year, while Hong Kong, now in 8th position, overtook Sydney and pushed it down into 9th place. In addition, Chicago rose over both Beijing and Shanghai to claim a place in the top 10 for the first time.
Milan, Vancouver, Miami, Hangzhou, Taipei City, and Washington DC also all move up the Top 50 Cities for Millionaires list. Meanwhile, Lisbon made its debut this year, with Auckland dropping out.
Dr. Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, said that a clear pattern is emerging in 2025: Cities that blend investment freedom with lifestyle dividends are winning the competition for mobile capital.
“These urban centers share common DNA — robust legal frameworks, sophisticated financial infrastructure, and perhaps most critically, investment migration programs that welcome global talent and capital. Seven of the Top 10 wealthiest cities are in countries with residence by investment programs, creating direct pathways for entrepreneurs and investors seeking access to these wealth hubs,” he stated.
Emerging centi city hotspots over the next decade
Looking beyond the established wealth centers, the World’s Wealthiest Cities Report 2025 also benchmarks wealth in over 100 Centi-Millionaire Hotspots worldwide, with a special spotlight on cities with high growth potential over the next decade to reveal the emerging new geography of super-wealth. Dubai and Abu Dhabi top this list.
Explosive 100 percent+ growth is also forecast for Delhi and Bengaluru, signaling the maturation of India’s tech ecosystem and the emergence of a new generation of digital entrepreneurs. Similar trajectories are expected in fast-growing European centers like Warsaw and Athens, with the Greek capital being boosted by strong inward wealth migration.
Particularly notable are smaller cities providing targeted investment migration pathways, which enable wealthy investors to acquire residence rights in return for making a substantial investment. St. Julian’s and Sliema in Malta, Lugano in Switzerland, and Latvia’s Riga & Jūrmala are all forecast to see 100 percent+ growth rates in their centi-millionaire populations by 2035.
“The world’s centi-millionaires are increasingly designing their geographical footprints with the same strategic care they apply to their investment portfolios — diversifying their presence across multiple jurisdictions to mitigate risk while maximizing opportunity. Formal investment migration pathways create systematic entry routes into these rapidly developing regions, enabling forward-looking individuals to situate themselves and their family members within environments designed for both safeguarding and multiplying personal wealth,” stated Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners.
Read: UAE tops ranking in Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2025 Report for 4 years running
Most expensive cities in the world
The report also identifies the most expensive cities in the world.
Monaco, arguably the world’s top safe haven for the super-rich, where the average wealth exceeds $20 million, is also the top-ranked city in the world on a wealth per capita basis. Over 40 percent of the Mediterranean principality’s residents are millionaires — the highest ratio of any city globally. It is also top of the World’s Most Expensive Cities list, with prime 100 to 200 m2 apartment prices regularly exceeding $38,800 per m2.
New York City ranks second, with the average price of prime real estate being $27,500 per m2, followed by Hong Kong and London. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in France holds onto fifth place with Paris usurping Sydney to take the sixth spot.
In fact, France boasts the most cities and towns on this year’s World’s Most Expensive Cities list followed by the U.S., while Switzerland and Italy each have two on the latest ranking.
