Singapore rises to become fourth wealthiest city in the world

Remember when Singapore was the fifth wealthiest city in the world? Well, we're richer now, beating out London to become the fourth wealthiest city in Henley and Partners' World's Wealthiest Cities Report 2024. The annual report draws on data that tracks the spending habits of over 150,000 high net worth (HNW) individuals worldwide – that is, individuals with a wealth of 1 million USD or more. 

3,400 HNW individuals moved to Singapore in 2023 alone, contributing to the 64 percent surge in millionaires here over the past decade. Right now, Singapore has 244,800 wealthy individuals, of which 226 are centi-millionaires (100 million USD or more) and 30 are billionaires (1 billion USD or more). What we can thank for that? Our business-friendly policies and strategic location, which attract the wealthy like flies to a flame. 

The only other Asian city sitting above us in the ranking is Tokyo, Japan. The city has 298,300 HNW individuals, though interestingly it has fewer billionaires than Singapore (just 14), with most of that incredible wealth spread out among a pool of "lower-tier" millionaires. 

And top of the draw? New York City. The Big Apple's residents boast a whopping 3 trillion USD in total wealth and has a population of 349,500 HNW individuals. It wins on other metrics too, having some of the world's most pricey residential streets and two of the world's largest stock exchanges by market cap.

News like this can be a bitter pill to swallow, especially now when everything in Singapore seems to be getting pricier – from housing, to groceries, to entertainment. Most of us will never see wealth like that in our own bank accounts. On the other hand, Singapore's GINI coefficient is at the lowest it's been in two decades – indicating a closing gap between our country's richest and poorest, helped along by a myriad of government packages like utility bill rebates and CDC vouchers. Small consolation? There are fantastic free things to do in Singapore too.  

Here are the top 10 wealthiest cities in the world according to Henley and Partners:

1. New York
2. San Francisco
3. Tokyo
4. Singapore
5. London
6. Los Angeles
7. Paris
8. Sydney
9. Hong Kong
10. Beijing

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