Top 10 Cities Features Most Billionaires in the World
Photo: Hong Kong, Moscow and New York City. Getty Images

10 Cities with the most billionaires in the world

1. Beijing - 100 billionaires

2. New York - 99 billionaires

3. Hongkong - 80 billionaires

4. Moscow - 79 billionaires

5. Shenzhen - 64 billionaires

6. Shanghai - 64 billionaires

7. London - 63 billionaires

8. Mumbai - 48 -billionaires

9. Sanfrancisco - 48 billionaires

10. Hangzhou - 47 billionaires

Detailed Information - 10 Cities with the most billionaires in the world

1. Beijing - 100 Billionaires

Total net worth: $484.3 Billion

Beijing added 33 new billionaires as China bounced back quickly from its pandemic woes, skyrocketing from No. 4 to No. 1 on our annual list. Beijing’s wealthiest newcomer is 34-year-old Wang Ning, whose booming toy business Pop Mart went public in Hong Kong in December 2020. Zhang Yiming, Beijing’s richest denizen and founder of social media sensation TikTok, doubled his net worth to $35.6 billion.

The Chinese capital gained 33 new billionaires in 2020, bringing its total to 100 billionaires and just edging out New York City's 99 billionaires, per Forbes. The Big Apple added only seven new billionaires in the same time span. In terms of total population, New York City is about 40% of the size of Beijing, with a population of 8.4 million versus Beijing's roughly 21 million.

2. New York - 99 Billionaires

New York. Photo: Forbes
New York. Photo: Forbes

Total net worth: $560.5 Billion

The U.S. cities that are home to the most billionaires are often closely tied to the sources of their wealthiest residents' net worth. For example, many of the wealthiest people in the country have made their fortune through some association a successful company -- and these people often live in close proximity to these companies. As a result, many of the cities on this list have high concentrations of companies in well-paying industries like finance, tech, and oil.

Some Big Apple billionaires were born and raised in New York, including Estee Lauder heir Ronald Lauder, JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon and Highbridge Capital cofounder Henry Swieca. Dimon and Swieca are two of 40 billionaires in the city whose fortunes were built in finance, the richest of whom is Carl Icahn, one of few hedge fund managers to make money in 2018. And though the city’s most famous landlord now calls the White House home, 17 other real estate billionaires live in New York City. That includes native New Yorker Steven Roth, whose real estate company Vornado owns 70% of Trump’s skyscraper at 1290 Avenue of Americas.

3. Hongkong - 80 Billionaires

Hongkong. Photo: Forbes
Hongkong. Photo: Forbes

Total net worth: $448.4 Billion

Despite a real estate slump and China’s growing interference in its political affairs, Hong Kong added nine billionaires, landing the former British colony at the No. 3 spot where billionaires live. Li Ka-shing, the retired investing legend, added $12 billion to his fortune, becoming the port city’s wealthiest resident. Meanwhile, Hong Kong media magnate and former billionaire Jimmy Lai was arrested in August 2020 under the city’s controversial national security law.

Last year, Hong Kong ranks seventh on the list, with a total of 96 billionaires (with a combined wealth of $280 billion).

4. Moscow - 79 Billionaires

Moscow. Photo: Business - Insider
Moscow. Photo: Business - Insider

Total net worth: $420.6 Billion

Moscow also added nine billionaires last year, even as the city slipped to No. 4. Though Russia’s GDP contracted in 2020, it was a good year for the capital’s mega-billionaires; its 10 wealthiest individuals all got richer, adding $72 billion to their collective fortunes.

5. Shenzhen - 68 Billionaires

Shenzhen. Photo: Forbes
Shenzhen. Photo: Forbes

Total net worth: $415.3 Billion

Designated as a “special economic zone” during Chinese economic reforms of the 1980’s, the Hong Kong-bordering city has become an economic and tourist hub. Every listmaker from Shenzhen is a self-made billionaire, with its second-richest resident Hui Ka Yan working as a factory technician for ten years before founding one of China’s foremost real estate developers. Dorm room founder Frank Wangbecame the world’s first drone billionaire in 2016, along with an early investor and his marketing chief, both Shenzhen residents.

6. Shanghai - 64 Billionaires

Shanghai. Photo: China Briefing
Shanghai. Photo: China Briefing

Total net worth: $259.6 billion

As ecommerce surges worldwide, so do fortunes like Huang’s, which is tied to internet retailer Pinduoduo. All those online-purchased items have created a massive package delivery market. Shanghai, also the world’s biggest port, is home to four major package delivery companies, each with a pair each of billionaires.

7. London - 63 Billionaires

London. Photo: Business - Insider
London. Photo: Business - Insider

Total net worth: $316.1 billion

London endured a difficult 2020 as Brexit and Covid-19 battered the city’s economy. Still, the U.K. capital managed to add seven billionaires. Among the newcomers was José Neves, a citizen of Portugal and founder of online luxury fashion retailer Farfetch, whose stock increased 500% in the past year. On average, London’s billionaire residents are 37% richer than they were last year.

8. Mumbai - 48 Billionaires

Mumbai. Photo: Business - Insider
Mumbai. Photo: Business - Insider

Total net worth: $265 billion

The Indian mega-city recorded a gain of 10 billionaires. Mukesh Ambani, the world’s 10th richest person and chair of conglomerate Reliance Industries, doubled his net worth to nearly $85 billion. His fortune now accounts for about one-third of Mumbai billionaires’ total wealth.

Read More: Top 11 New Billionaires from IPOs in 2021

9. Sanfrancisco - 48 Billionaires

San Francisco. Photo: San Francisco AIDS Foundation
San Francisco. Photo: San Francisco AIDS Foundation

Total net worth: $190 billion

San Francisco welcomed 11 billionaires to its ranks, including food delivery pioneers Apoorva Mehta (Instacart founder) and Tony Xu (DoorDash CEO), complicating the narrative of tech moguls fleeing the Silicon Valley for places like Miami and Austin. Airbnb’s three cofounders now rank among the city’s top 5 wealthiest, following their company’s December 2020 IPO. Early Facebook employee Dustin Moskovitz remained the city’s wealthiest person; his work management startup Asana went public last September.

10. Hangzhou - 47 Billionaires

hangzhou. Photo: China Business Review
hangzhou. Photo: China Business Review

Total net worth: $269.2 billion

Hangzhou added 21 billionaires, enough to overtake Singapore for the No. 10 spot. Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma’s fortune rose $9 billion, to $48 billion, despite running afoul of China’s regulators. With a net worth of nearly $69 billion, Zhong Shanshan became Hangzhou’s wealthiest person–and the 13th richest in the world–following the September 2020 IPO of his bottled water company Nongfu Spring.

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