Some cities have a higher propensity for birthing billionaires than others. That’s according to a new report put out by Spear’s in collaboration with consultancy company WealthInSight.
Data compiled by both companies find that New York City has spawned the most billionaires. Fifty-two of the world’s billionaires were born in the Big Apple. Moscow comes in second with 22, while London rounds up the top three with 21.
Hong Kong and Istanbul make up the remainder of the top five. All top five cities have produced at least 10 billionaires.
Now here’s the caveat. Commenting on the findings, WealthInsight Analyst Oliver Williams notes: “As the average age of a billionaire today is hovering around 63, what this ranking shows is not so much today’s entrepreneurial hives, but those of 60 odd years ago. While some cities – New York and London particularly – have retained their economic successes, other cities have changed dramatically such as Detroit or Moscow -which 60 years ago was under the Soviet Union.”
Also of note, more billionaires live in London today than most other cities in the world. But they aren’t home grown. Because of London’s status as a global business hub and international capital for culture, food, luxury, and society, people are going to flock there. A WealthInSight analyst also notes, “What millionaires particularly love about London is its political stability and heritage. Owning a piece of history in a city such as London is an aspiration for many, particularly wealthy individuals from overseas.”
Seventy billionaires live in New York, the city that has more home grown billionaires than any other world capital. According to data from WealthInSight, one out of every 21 New Yorkers is a millionaire.
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Business Insider says, New York city has “389,100 people with net worth greater than $1 million. That’s 4.63% of the population.”
In San Francisco, it’s one out of every 37 people. For the No.1 city with the most billionaires it’s Monaco, with nearly three in 10.
Check out the full list of cities with the most millionaires from data compiled by WealthInSight on the next page.