Richest City in the World: Singapore Ranks Fifth Globally in Wealth, Trails Only Tokyo in Asia

Singapore, known as one of the richest city in the world, now ranks as the fifth-wealthiest city around the globe, with approximately 249,800 millionaires and 26 actual billionaires. 

This year, around 2,800 High-Net-Worth (HNW) individuals,  who have become a defining feature of the richest city in the world, are expected to be added to the country’s population, says Henley and Partners, a London-based investment migration consultancy.

In Asia, Singapore is second only to Tokyo, ranked number two on Henley and Partners’ recently published list.

New York takes first place. San Francisco Bay Area and London ranked third and fourth places, respectively, round out the top five.

The number of HNW individuals, people whose net worth is at least US$1 million (SGD 1.4 million) in Singapore, should not come as a surprise to anyone, since the Little Red Dot is perceived to be one of the most favored business destinations around the globe and hence a key player among the richest cities in the world.

Henley and Partners broke down the details of Singapore’s wealthiest as follows: Aside from 249,800 HNWs, there are also 8,040 multi-millionaires, those whose net worth is at least US$10 million (SGD 14.4 million).

Moreover, Singapore also has 336 centi-millionaires whose net worth is at least US$100 million (SGD 144 million).

Finally, there are also 26 billionaires in the country, whose net worth is at least US$1 billion (SGD 1.44 billion).

Henley and Partners also noted that there has been a one per cent growth in Singapore’s HNWs for this year.

Curiously, although Tokyo ranks higher on the list than Singapore, the Japanese capital has fewer HNWs, with 7,350 multi-millionaires, 263 centi-millionaires and 12 billionaires. 

Furthermore, New York, Tokyo and London, showed negative growth in HNWs this year, -12 per cent, -8 per cent and -9 per cent for the three cities respectively, unlike San Francisco Bay Area, which showed a 4 per cent increase.

According to Henley & Partners, the more HNW individuals a place has, the better it is because “countries that attract high-net-worth individuals tend to be robust, with low crime rates, competitive tax rates, and excellent business opportunities.”

Among countries that have seen a high influx of HNWs, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) tops the list with 4,000 individuals, followed by Australia with 3500 individuals, with Singapore coming in third place as one of the richest city in the world.

Singapore, where low taxes and a path to permanent residency remain highly attractive, is also a highly-favoured destination for the wealthy to open offices.

In May, Bloomberg reported that Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-Shing, whose 2022 net worth is said to be US$36.2 billion (SGD50.5 billion), would open an office in Singapore as he aims to discover new deals as well as support portfolio companies trying to expand in Asia.

Li was listed as the 30th richest person in the world in 2019, and last year took pole position as the richest person in Hong Kong. He operates the largest health and beauty retailer in Europe and Asia and is the leading port investor in the world. /TISG

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