Hong Kong now where most ultra-rich live

New York has lost its crown as home to the most ultrarich people, beaten out by the rising tide of extreme wealth in Asia.

Hong Kong surpassed the Big Apple as the city with the highest population of people worth at least $30 million, according to a new report. The former British colony saw its number of ultrawealthy increase 31% last year, to about 10,000, research firm Wealth-X found, higher than the nearly 9,000-strong population of the US’s largest city. Tokyo came third, while Paris beat out London to take the European crown as Brexit weighed down the UK capital.

The number of ultra-rich worldwide rose 13% last year, according to Wealth-X, totaling about 256,000 people with a combined assets of $31.5 trillion. Asia saw the fastest growth, driven by mainland China and Hong Kong, the study’s authors wrote. Reflecting the region’s rise, its share of the global population of people with at least $30 million rose to just over one-fourth, up from around 18% a decade ago.

“Asia-Pacific is forecast to close the ultra-wealth gap with other regions over the next five years, but is expected to remain behind Europe, the Middle East and Africa in absolute terms,” the report’s authors wrote. The number of ultra-wealthy in Asia-Pacific is expected to rise at a compound rate of 8.3% percent a year, they said.

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