Hong Kong Retains Top Billionaire Spot in Asia with 106 Ultra Wealthy

Hong Kong held its position as Asia’s top billionaire city with 106 ultra-wealthy residents last year, ranking second globally behind New York’s 164.

The city lost two billionaires over the period even as its aggregate billionaire net worth rose, according to data from research firm Altrata.

San Francisco, London, Singapore and Los Angeles took the third through sixth spots globally. Beijing placed seventh with 61 billionaires, while Shenzhen and Dubai tied for eighth place with 43 each.

AI Gains Shift Wealth Creation

New York added 12 billionaires during the year as the artificial intelligence investment boom propelled technology fortunes higher. Global billionaire numbers recorded their fastest pace of expansion since 2020, with the United States and mainland China remaining the only countries holding multiple cities in the top 15 rankings.

Hong Kong and London were the only hubs in the top 15 to register declines in billionaire headcount. A prolonged downturn in Hong Kong’s real estate sector and relatively limited exposure to direct AI equity gains curbed new entries.

Asian Hubs Draw Inbound Capital

Banking and finance accounted for the largest share of global billionaire fortunes at 19.6 per cent, more than double the proportion held by business and consumer services. Across the worldwide cohort, the average age stood at 71, with men representing 86.9 per cent of the total.

For luxury operators, private banks and commercial landlords across Asia, the shifting balance between property and technology fortunes alters where discretionary capital flows. Both Hong Kong and Singapore continue to draw high proportions of foreign-born billionaires, particularly from mainland China and India, supporting prime retail footfall and asset management inflows despite broader market volatility.

Attention now turns to whether mainland China’s expanding tech sector can push Shenzhen and Beijing past European wealth centres in Altrata’s next census.