The U.S. may have the most millionaires in the world, but some of China’s cities are gaining millionaires at a faster clip.
Eight Chinese metropolises rank among the top 50 cities whose number of millionaires has climbed the most over the past decade, according to data from Henley & Partners, a company that advises the wealthy on citizenship processes around the globe.
Shenzhen, China, the third-most populous city in that country, has seen the greatest growth in millionaire residents. As of 2024, the city had 50,800 millionaires, a 142 percent increase from 2014.
Hangzhou, China, came in second place; that city’s number of millionaires — 32,300 — rose 108 percent over the same period. And with a millionaire growth rate of 88 percent, Guangzhou, China, ranked eighth in the world.
Tech and industrial moguls have contributed to China’s wealth growth, but most of this growth was pre-2020. Since then, its economy has lagged, according to CNBC.
However, in absolute numbers, the U.S.’s major cities have more millionaires: there are 384,500 in New York City, 342,400 in the Bay Area and 220,600 in Los Angeles. Those figures are up 45 percent, 98 percent and 35 percent, respectively. Eleven U.S. cities make the top-50 ranking, the most of any country.
The Bay Area, New York City and Los Angeles also hold the top slots for the most centi-millionaires and billionaires. Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai follow with the most billionaires. London, Hong Kong and Singapore are fourth, fifth and sixth for centi-millionaires.
Just two cities saw the number of their millionaires fall from 2014 to 2024: Moscow (-25 percent), likely a result of economic struggles stemming from its war with Ukraine, and London (-12 percent). The United Kingdom recently instituted a tax on those who do not live in the country, and it has some of the highest capital gains tax and estate duty rates in the world, triggering the wealthy, in part, to leave, according to the firm.
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