New York has been dethroned by Beijing as the world’s billionaire capital; a position that it held for seven years. Beijing recorded a net gain of 33 billionaires in 2020 securing it to the top spot.
The data comes from the 2021 Forbes World’s Billionaires list. The findings show that the quarter of the 2,755 members of the 2021 Forbes World’s Billionaires list live in just 10 cities and more than 10% reside in just four Chinese cities. Beijing has 100 individuals worth a billion dollar or more while New York has 99.
China’s pandemic resiliency fuelled the massive rise in the wealth of its residents. Along with Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou are on the top 10 list. Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, is at the third spot with 80 billionaires.
Despite being at the second place, the collective net worth of New York’s billionaires amounts to $560.5 billion compared to Beijing’s $484.3 billion. The majority of cities with the highest number of billionaires is located in Asia reflecting the rise of the region in the global economic field.
