The streets of London may not be paved with gold, but there is still plenty of it.
One in 39 Londoners, or 227,000 people out of a population of 8.8 million, has at least $1 million in investable liquid wealth. according to At World’s Richest Cities Report 2024.
The study, compiled by Henley & Partners and New World Wealth, ranks the British capital 5th in the world for its wealthy population, behind New York (349,500 millionaires), San Francisco and the Bay Area (305,700), Tokyo (298 300). and Singapore (244,800).
Paris ranks seventh in the world and second in Europe, with 165,000 liquid millionaires. Despite being home to the world’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, the French capital is also behind London in terms of billionaires, with 23 to London’s 35.
It’s no surprise to see wealthy individuals congregate in major global cities like these, where so much wealth is both created and managed.
However, the rankings reflect much more than the economic activity of the cities in question. Policies also have an impact.
London and the UK as a whole have historically been successful in attracting overseas HNWIs, but according to Henley data, the country has seen a net outflow of millionaires since the Brexit vote in 2016.
“Whatever one may think of the merits of Brexit, this cohort is voting with their feet. Coupled with the policy change to remove permanent non-domiciled taxpayer status, Brexit has made the UK less hospitable and welcoming to HNWIs,” said Trevor Williams, former chief commercial economist at Lloyds Bank. commented Last year.
An increase in net millionaire outflows also occurred in 2022-23, with around 5,000 people estimated to have left, which is likely linked to the UK’s abrupt end to its Tier 1 investor visa ( or “golden”) after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
London and Paris were joined by 15 other European cities in the global top 50, with Dublin having the fastest-growing millionaire population and Moscow the fastest-falling millionaire population.
