Hong Kong now has more super-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 $30 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 $30 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 $31.5 trillion.
A majority of the super-rich made between $30-$100 million, while more than 2,700 people - or roughly one percent - made $1 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.
And property prices in the country have increased to reflect the growing wealth of its inhabitants.
Hong Kong has broken several property records over the last year. It was there in November 2017 that the most expensive apartments in Asia sold for a combined $149 million.
And in June, a single parking space in Hong Kong that was originally purchased for $430,000 resold for nearly double the price.
Hong Kong is currently suffering from a housing crisis, where a fraction of its land area is zoned for residential property development.