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- Nearly 30% of the world’s billionaire population in 2018 was concentrated in just 15 cities, according to Wealth-X’s 2019 Billionaire Census report.
- Strong tech industries have fostered considerable wealth in several cities, from San Francisco to Shenzhen.
- A large share of the world’s billionaire population lives in eastern Asia, which has six cities on the list.
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Billionaires are increasingly becoming concentrated in a cluster of cities, according to Wealth-X’s 2019 Billionaire Census report. The report analyzed data from Wealth-X’s global database of more than one million records of the world’s richest people.
According to its findings, nearly 30% of the world’s billionaire population as of 2018 is concentrated in the 15 cities outlined below. The report also looked at how these billionaire populations grew or shrank compared to the previous year. Both country and city dynamics influenced wealth accumulation, according to the report.
Strong tech sectors are responsible for wealth accumulation in several cities, from San Francisco to Hangzhou and Shenzhen in China. A large share of the world’s billionaire population reside in eastern Asia — six Eastern Asian cities made the list. However, billionaires in many of those cities were impacted by negative stock market movements, according to the report.
Note that the number of billionaires gained or lost marks the increase or decrease in each city’s billionaire population from 2017 to 2018.
15. Tokyo has the largest share of its country’s billionaire population out of all the leading cities.
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Country: Japan
Number of billionaires: 29
Number of billionaires gained or lost: -1
In Japan, 81% of the country’s billionaires — four out of five — live in Tokyo.
14. Hangzhou was impacted by negative stock market movements.
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Country: China
Number of billionaires: 31
Number of billionaires gained or lost: -1
Growth in the innovation and technology industry has increased Hangzhou‘s high-net-worth population by 25% in the past five years, according to Knight Frank’s "Wealth Report." There are now 26 unicorns — tech companies valued at $1 billion or more — in the city.
13. Istanbul saw a decrease in billionaires because of currency depreciation against the US dollar and negative equity prices.
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Country: Turkey
Number of billionaires: 32
Number of billionaires gained or lost: -4
Istanbul‘s most expensive districts are Besiktas and Sariyer. The luxury lifestyle in the city involves going out and attending after parties in hotel penthouses, reported Jonathan Gorvett of The New York Times.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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Source: Business Insider – hhoffower@businessinsider.com (Hillary Hoffower)