Which cities have the most billionaires?
New York is the world’s biggest billionaire hotspot on every major count. Forbes found 123 billionaires living there in 2025, with a combined net worth of $759 billion, and the city has topped the Forbes ranking in every year of the past twelve except 2021, when Beijing briefly took first place [1][2]. The Hurun Global Rich List 2026 puts New York first as well, with 146 [3].
After New York the order depends on which list you read. Forbes puts Moscow second and Hong Kong third. Hurun, which counts more billionaires overall, has three Chinese cities, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing, in its top four [1][3]. The infographic by Profit Labs above shows an earlier snapshot of the same pattern: New York well ahead, then Hong Kong, the big Chinese cities, London, Moscow and Mumbai, each with the name of its richest resident. It gives no date or source, and its counts, such as 101 billionaires in New York and 70 in Hong Kong, are lower than both current lists, so read it as an older snapshot.
The top billionaire cities in 2025
These are the ten cities with the most billionaires on Forbes’ 2025 World’s Billionaires list, with each city’s richest resident [1][2].
| Rank | City | Billionaires | Combined net worth | Richest resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | 123 | $759 billion | Michael Bloomberg ($105 billion) |
| 2 | Moscow | 90 | $409 billion | Vagit Alekperov ($28.7 billion) |
| 3 | Hong Kong | 72 | $309 billion | Li Ka-shing ($38.9 billion) |
| 4 | London | 71 | $355 billion | Len Blavatnik ($29.9 billion) |
| 5 | Beijing | 68 | $273 billion | Lei Jun ($43.5 billion) |
| 6 | Mumbai | 67 | $349 billion | Mukesh Ambani ($92.5 billion) |
| 7 | Singapore | 60 | $259 billion | Zhang Yiming ($65.5 billion) |
| 8 (tie) | San Francisco | 58 | $217 billion | Dustin Moskovitz ($17 billion) |
| 8 (tie) | Shanghai | 58 | $198 billion | Colin Huang ($42.3 billion) |
| 10 | Los Angeles | 56 | $243 billion | Peter Thiel ($16.3 billion) |
Source: Forbes, The Cities With The Most Billionaires 2025, as reported by The Indian Express and Jagran Josh [1][2].
Some richest-resident names change as people move. ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming, shown on the infographic as Beijing’s richest resident, was counted by Forbes in 2025 as living in Singapore, which made Xiaomi’s Lei Jun the richest person in Beijing [2]. In Moscow, oil boss Vagit Alekperov had taken the top spot [2].
The billionaire hotspots on the 2026 Hurun list
The Hurun Global Rich List, published by the Hurun Research Institute in Shanghai, gives a different picture because it counts more billionaires and uses its own valuations. Its 2026 list, a snapshot from January 2026, ranks the cities like this [3][4]:
- New York, 146
- Shenzhen, 132
- Shanghai, 120
- Beijing, 107
- London, 102
- Mumbai, 95
- Hong Kong, 88
- San Francisco, 86
- Moscow, 82
- Hangzhou, 65
New Delhi (64), Singapore (59) and Taipei (51) follow, with Paris (44) the highest-placed city in the European Union [3].
The biggest difference between the two lists is China. Hurun finds far more billionaires in Shenzhen and Shanghai than Forbes does, and puts Shenzhen, home to many electronics and technology companies, second in the world [3]. Both lists agree on New York at the top and on London, Mumbai and Hong Kong being among the leading hotspots.
Why billionaires cluster in a few cities
Billionaires are spread across more than 800 cities, from small Swiss towns to Ezulwini in Eswatini, yet almost a quarter of the world’s 3,028 billionaires on the Forbes 2025 list live in just ten cities, with combined wealth of $3.3 trillion [2]. A few reasons stand out from the lists:
- Finance. More of New York’s billionaires made their money in finance and investing than anything else: 68 of the 123, followed by real estate (13) and fashion and retail (12) [2]. Big financial centres such as New York, London and Hong Kong are where fortunes are managed as well as made.
- Technology. San Francisco’s count rose by eight in 2025, and Forbes noted that most of the new billionaires there came from the AI company Anthropic [2]. Shenzhen’s rise on the Hurun list reflects the same thing in China.
- National capitals with concentrated industries. Moscow gained 16 billionaires in 2025, the biggest increase of any city, mostly from oil and industrial wealth [2]. Mumbai is India’s financial capital and home to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries [1].
- Moving home. Billionaires can live where they like, and some move. Forbes now counts ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming, worth $65.5 billion, as a resident of Singapore, which had 60 billionaires and ranked seventh in 2025 [1][2].
Rich places that are not on the city lists
Counting billionaires by city favours big cities, so it misses some of the richest places per head. The small Florida town of Palm Beach counts 24 billionaires on the Hurun 2026 list, the same as Melbourne and Dubai [3]. A city count also says nothing about how wealthy ordinary residents are; it only shows where the very richest people have their main home.
The lists also change quickly. Billionaire counts move with stock markets, and a good or bad year for a few large companies can move a city several places. On the Forbes 2025 list, London added nine billionaires and moved up to fourth, while Mumbai lost two and dropped two places [2]. Treat any ranking, including the infographic, as a snapshot of one moment.
Questions about billionaire hotspots
Where do most billionaires live?
In New York. It had 123 billionaires on the Forbes 2025 list and 146 on the Hurun 2026 list, more than any other city on either count [1][3].
Which city has the most billionaires in Asia?
It depends on the list. Forbes 2025 puts Hong Kong first in Asia with 72, ahead of Beijing (68) and Mumbai (67) [1]. Hurun 2026 puts Shenzhen first with 132 [3].
How many billionaires live in London?
Forbes counted 71 in 2025, fourth in the world, with Len Blavatnik the richest at $29.9 billion [1][2]. Hurun counted 102 in its 2026 list [3].
Who is the richest person in New York?
Michael Bloomberg, the founder of Bloomberg LP and former mayor, worth $105 billion on the Forbes 2025 list [1][2].
Why do Forbes and Hurun give different numbers?
They value fortunes differently, use different cut-off dates and decide differently where some people live. Hurun generally counts more billionaires, so its city totals are higher [3][4].
Sources
- The Indian Express, Top 10 richest global cities with the most billionaires in 2025, reporting Forbes’ 2025 city ranking.
- Jagran Josh, Top 10 Cities with the Most Billionaires in 2025, reporting Forbes, The Cities With The Most Billionaires 2025.
- Wikipedia, List of cities by number of billionaires (Forbes 2025 and Hurun Global Rich List 2026 tables).
- Hurun Research Institute, Hurun Global Rich List, 2026 edition.
- Forbes, The Cities With The Most Billionaires 2025, 2 April 2025.
Last reviewed 3 November 2026
