Many Melburnians are pinching pennies at the moment, as the high cost of living continues to hit hard. Yet, in the midst of this wallet-wringing chaos, the world’s wealthiest cities have boldly released their rankings for 2025. And while we’re all trying to navigate an economic rollercoaster, it seems our millionaire population is still going strong. Must be nice!
Every year, wealth migration firm Henley and Partners releases its World’s Wealthiest Cities Report, which ranks the top 50 wealthiest cities based on the number of millionaires (and billionaires) who live there. The data is gathered by New World Wealth, a research firm that tracks wealthy individuals who have large investment portfolios or top leadership positions in high-value companies.
Melbourne came in at number 16 on the rich list, dropping one place since last year, with 94,000 millionaires, 108 centi-millionaires and 12 billionaires. According to the data, the number of millionaires in the last decade has increased by a staggering 36 per cent. This is all measured in USD too, so it would be even more in Aussie dollars. Three other Australian capital cities also made it into the top 50 wealthiest cities, with Sydney ranked in ninth place, as well as Perth in the 34th spot and Brisbane 43rd.
Topping the rich list for yet another year is New York City. The Big Apple has a whopping total wealth of $3 trillion USD and counting – more than $4.5 trillion in Aussie dollars – with a total of 384,500 millionaires, 818 centi-millionaires and 66 billionaires. The runner-up on the world's wealthiest cities list was the Bay Area (including San Francisco and Silicon Valley), with Tokyo, Singapore and Los Angeles rounding out the top five.
Anyway, if these eye-watering stats have you overwhelmed, don't fret. If you're far from being a millionaire, there are still plenty of ways you can enjoy Melbourne life. Check out our list of the best cheap eats across the city or 25 things you can do in Melbourne for under $25.
Here are the top 20 wealthiest cities in the world:
- New York
- San Francisco (Bay Area)
- Tokyo
- Singapore
- Los Angeles
- London
- Paris
- Hong Kong
- Sydney
- Chicago
- Milan
- Beijing
- Osaka
- Shanghai
- Toronto
- Melbourne
- Houston
- Dubai
- Frankfurt
- Zurich
You can read about Henley & Partners’ report in more detail here.
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