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These 10 Cities are Home to the World’s Wealthiest Families

Wealthy individuals can live anywhere in the world. Warren Buffett, perhaps the greatest investor of all-time, calls Omaha, Nebraska home. He can afford a home in any city, thanks to a net worth of $72.3 billion, but prefers the city in which he was born.

According to Sotheby’s International Realty’s 2015 Global Luxury Residential Real Estate Report, ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals, defined as those with $30 million or more in net assets, are more attracted to some cities than others.

Just who are these people? According to the report, they own 2.7 homes that they use to live in. Now, those in this group with a net worth between $30 and $50 million tend to keep their first homes for 15 years and their second homes for 10 years. Billionaires must have greater wanderlust; they change at least one of their four properties every three years.

The people Sotheby’s classify as UHNW are 211,275 of the most fortunate people on the planet, all of whom are cooler than you (kidding! Maybe… it’s okay, they’re cooler than me, too). Together, they own a cool $3 trillion in real estate around the world.

So where do they like to hang out? Here are the 10 cities with the highest concentration of ultra-high net worth individuals:
 

New York City

 
The Big Apple. The City that Never Sleeps. The Capital of the World. It doesn’t matter what you call this city, it is tops among the super rich. This is due in large part to its luxury real estate offerings and might also have something to do with the fact it’s one of the world’s greatest business centers.
 

 

London

 
Duking it out for top honors in the UHNW department is bonny London, England. There are approximately 8.3 million people living in London, most of whom are not part of this exclusive group. But just like New York City, London’s variety of luxury real estate and its position as one of Europe’s premier business hubs attracts the ultra-wealthy.
 

Hong Kong

 
There’s a theme here… do you see it yet? Hong Kong, another major business center, rounds out the top three. Located on the southern coast of China, Hong Kong is home to more than seven million people, including many of the world’s wealthiest people.

The rest of the top ten includes four more American cities, making the USA very well represented among super wealthy property owners:
 

  • Los Angeles: The City of Angels is home to many of the country’s most well known celebrities, sports and business professionals.
  • San Francisco: San Francisco finds itself on this list for many reasons, including the fact that it is one of the top locations in the world for tech companies.
  • Washington, D.C.: If this city is good enough for the president of the United States, it is good enough for anybody.
  • Singapore: Singapore has a population of more than 5.4 million people, with a select group considered to be ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
  • Dallas: With a growing real estate market and business sector, don’t be surprised if the Big D continues to move up this list in the years to come.
  • Mumbai: With a population of approximately 12 million, it is only natural for many wealthy individuals to call Mumbai home.
  • Paris: From the fashion scene to the food to the luxury real estate, Paris has a lot to offer ultra-high-net-worth individuals.