The global economy remained sluggish last year for most people, struggling with inflation and cost-of-living crises. For one demographic, however, financial success remains as attainable as ever: the number of billionaires in the world increased again in 2023.
The total net worth of the global billionaire class increased by 9% to a record-breaking $12.1 trillion last year, according to Altrata’s 2024 Billionaire Census. At the same time, the number of billionaires increased by 4% to 3,323 individuals.
And while there have been several reports this year indicating that billionaires are leaving their traditional strongholds in the face of political instability and changing laws, the Altrata report indicates that much of the world’s ultra-high net worth population remains in exactly the same places. Twenty-eight percent of the global billionaire population resides in just 15 cities, all of which were included in Altrata’s previous rankings of cities that are home to the ultra-wealthy.
Among the regions seeing growth in their ultra-high net worth populations are India – where there was a 16% increase in billionaires – and North America, where there was a 9.9% increase.
“North America was home to 1,111 billionaires in 2023, a third of the global billionaire population,” the Altrata report read. The continent had “the fastest growth of any region and raised its global share to 33.4%. The combined wealth of the billionaire class surged by 15.7% to just over $5 trillion, more than the annual GDP of Germany, the world’s third-largest economy.”
While American cities featured the most heavily in Altrata’s rankings of the ten cities with the most billionaires, Asia was the continent that was most heavily represented – with five cities in the top ten.
Continue reading to learn which cities have the largest billionaire populations.
