Hong Kong had world’s second largest billionaire population in urban centres last year even as its economy suffered historic contraction
- New York topped the list with the most number of billionaires at 124, adding 11 last year
- The global billionaire population grew 13.4 per cent to 3,204
“[New York] is home to more billionaires than almost every country in the world, with the exception of China and Germany,” Wealth-X said. “Hong Kong bolstered its second place ranking, despite heightened instability, recording the largest net increase in billionaire population of any city globally.”
The city’s economy has struggled over the past two years. Recession took hold in 2019 when Hong Kong’s economy shrank by 1.2 per cent – its first contraction in a decade – as frequent clashes between anti-government protesters and police regularly disrupted businesses in the city. The recession deepened last year with a record 6.1 per cent decline, as the coronavirus pandemic battered the economy and unemployment surged.
Billionaires in the city had an estimated aggregate wealth of US$282 billion. San Francisco, with 81 billionaires, came in third, followed by Moscow with 74 and London with 71.