Henley & Partners, which published the report in partnership with wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth, is a residence and citizenship advisory firm.

Its list, ‘Top 50 Cities for Millionaires’, showed The Bay Area as the second city with the most millionaires (305,700) as it followed New York City which boasts 349,500. Dubai was ranked 21st overall with 72,500 millionaires.

Dubai experienced growth of 78% in its millionaire population over the past 10 years, and also features 212 centi-millionaires and 15 billionaires.

72,500 millionaires: Dubai third-richest city in BRICS

Dubai also saw the second-highest net inflow of millionaires globally in 2023.

The glitzy gulf city was deemed as “highly likely to break into the top 20 in the coming years”, according to a press release issued by the consultancy firm.

Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners, said 7 of the top 10 wealthiest cities in the world are in countries that host investment migration programs that actively encourage foreign direct investment in return for residence or citizenship rights.

“You can secure the right to live, work, study, and invest in leading international wealth hubs such as New York, Singapore, Sydney, Vienna, and Dubai via investment,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.

“Being able to relocate yourself, your family, or your business to a more favorable city or have the option to choose between multiple different cities across the world is an increasingly important aspect of international wealth and legacy planning for private clients.”