Where the World's Millionaires are Concentrated: 2025 Global Wealth Distribution Map

New York millionaires continue to dominate the global wealth landscape, with the city ranking as the undisputed capital of high-net-worth individuals. According to the latest World’s Wealthiest Cities Report 2025, the concentration of billionaires, centimillionaires, and millionaires reveals fascinating patterns about where wealth clusters and how it’s shifting across continents.

The American Dominance and New York’s Leadership

The United States maintains a commanding presence in the global wealth hierarchy, claiming 22% of the world’s top 50 wealthiest cities. New York millionaires lead this charge with staggering numbers: 384,500 millionaires, 818 centimillionaires, and 66 billionaires spread across its 8.5 million residents. This represents a 45% growth in millionaire population from 2014 to 2024, demonstrating sustained wealth accumulation in America’s financial epicenter.

The Bay Area follows closely as the second-largest wealth hub, with 342,400 millionaires and 82 billionaires. What’s remarkable here is the explosive 98% millionaire growth over the same decade—nearly double New York’s expansion rate. This reflects the tech boom’s transformative impact on the region’s wealth distribution.

Asia’s Rising Wealth Challenge

The Asian continent presents a contrasting narrative. Tokyo ranks third globally with 292,300 millionaires despite its massive 37 million population, yet shows modest 4% growth over ten years. This suggests wealth maturation rather than explosive new wealth creation in Japan.

Meanwhile, Chinese cities are becoming wealth powerhouses. Shenzhen stands out with an astronomical 142% millionaire growth—the highest among top 50 cities—expanding from 2014 to 2024. Shanghai and Beijing have also positioned themselves firmly in the top 15, with Shanghai housing 110,500 millionaires and Beijing 114,300 millionaires respectively.

Singapore, with its compact 6 million population, punches well above its weight with 242,400 millionaires and 62% growth, maintaining its status as Asia’s wealth consolidation point.

Emerging Wealth Centers and Accelerated Growth

Several secondary cities are experiencing explosive millionaire population growth that outpaces established financial centers. Dubai has seen 102% growth, turning the desert metropolis into a magnet for wealth. Houston and Dallas in Texas are also emerging as wealth hotspots with 75% and 85% growth respectively.

Austin’s 90% millionaire growth rate reflects the tech migration phenomenon, while Miami’s 94% growth shows renewed interest in wealth relocation to warmer climates with favorable tax conditions.

Stagnation and Decline in Traditional Centers

Not all established wealth centers are thriving. London experienced -12% millionaire decline from 2014 to 2024, a concerning trend for one of the world’s oldest financial capitals. Moscow saw even steeper -25% decline, reflecting geopolitical and economic shifts. Paris, meanwhile, shows sluggish 5% growth despite its cultural prestige.

Key Insights on Millionaire Concentration

The data reveals that millionaire density varies dramatically. While Tokyo’s population dwarfs most cities, it has fewer millionaires than New York and Bay Area combined. Los Angeles (220,600 millionaires), London (215,700), and Paris (160,100) round out the top tier of wealth concentration outside Asia-Pacific’s financial hubs.

Toronto, Melbourne, and Sydney have emerged as secondary English-speaking wealth destinations, attracting millionaires seeking alternatives to overcrowded American markets. European cities like Zurich, Geneva, and Frankfurt maintain their appeal as wealth preservation and banking centers, with Zurich holding 77,800 millionaires despite its tiny 1.45 million population.

The New York Millionaires Phenomenon and What It Signals

New York millionaires represent not just wealth quantity but wealth diversity—spanning finance, real estate, technology, entertainment, and art. The city’s continued dominance, even as competitors emerge globally, underscores its irreplaceable role in international finance and capital markets.

The 2025 data suggests wealth is simultaneously consolidating in megacities while dispersing to secondary hubs and emerging markets. Established centers face slower growth, while dynamic cities with favorable conditions, lower costs, or emerging industries experience double-digit millionaire population surges.

For investors and wealth creators, this map illustrates a fundamental shift: the golden age of concentration in New York, London, and traditional financial capitals is giving way to a more multipolar wealth distribution, with tech hubs, tax havens, and gateway cities capturing an increasingly significant share of global high-net-worth migration.