The 10 most expensive cities for the rich - Singapore maintains first place globally!
Singapore retained its top spot as the most expensive city globally for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) for the third consecutive year, according to the Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2025 by Swiss bank Julius Baer.
The report is based on the Julius Baer Lifestyle Index, which examines the relative cost of a basket of 20 goods and services that wealthy consumers in 25 major cities globally buy and use, such as cars, jewelry, lawyers and private schools.
The sixth edition of the bank's annual report comes amid global economic uncertainty, rising geopolitical tensions and a slowdown in consumer spending.
Data collection for this study was completed before the US administration announced its tariff plans, so subsequent market turmoil was not factored into this year's figures, according to the report.
Notably, the report recorded a 2% decline in US dollar terms for the cost of a high-net-worth lifestyle. This is significant because “historically, high-end consumer prices have increased at twice the rate of average consumer prices,” the report said.
The report added that a decline of more than one percentage point underscores the difficulties facing the high-end sector. "One of the main factors in this was the decline in the price of technology, which has fallen across all regions."
In contrast, the price for business class flights and hours increased significantly by 18.2% and 5.6%, respectively, over the past year, according to the report.
Spending increased globally among high-income earners surveyed for the study, although to a lesser extent than in previous years. Europe showed the slowest growth compared to the Middle East, Latin America, North America and the Asia-Pacific regions.
This year, Europe made up five of the ten most expensive places to live for high net worth individuals, with London leading the pack, ranking second globally. London has been a consistently strong performer in the index.
Meanwhile, Dubai made a big jump to seventh place from 12th place last year, largely due to rising property, car and champagne prices, the report noted.
On the other hand, Shanghai fell to sixth position from fourth, a significant drop from its highest ranking in 2022. And, notably, there was only one American city - New York - in the top ten on the list.
The Asia-Pacific region topped the rankings, with Singapore and Hong Kong taking two of the top three positions for most expensive cities.
The 10 most expensive cities for high net worth individuals globally:
· Singapore
· London
· Hong Kong
· Monaco
· Zurich
· Shanghai
· Dubai
· New York
· Paris
· Milan
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