SAR ranks second in billionaires

June Chen

Hong Kong has the highest number of billionaires only after New York, according to a Altrata report on the distribution of the world's wealthiest individuals.

Although the number of billionaires has dropped by five to 107, Hong Kong is ahead of Singapore by 49 billionaires, the Altrata report says.

The US and China are the only two countries in the world with more than one city ranking among the top 10.

New York tops the list with a total of 144 billionaires, nine more than a year ago.

Following Hong Kong in the top 10 are San Francisco, London, Moscow, Los Angeles, Beijing, Singapore, Shenzhen and Mumbai, the 2024 Billionaire Census shows.

Coming in the third spot, San Francisco has 87 billionaires, three more from last year. There are 60 billionaires in Beijing, two lesser than a year ago, making the capital city the seventh on the global chart.

Hangzhou in Zhejiang province ranked 15th, with 33 billionaires.

However, China has experienced the largest drop in billionaire numbers for the second consecutive year, with its billionaire population falling by almost 15 percent to a total of 304 in the midst of an economy slowdown and real estate slump, according to the report.

The US ranked top with 1,050 billionaires.

The global billionaire population expanded by 4 percent in 2023 to 3,323 individuals, reversing the decline of the previous year to hit a new high in billionaire numbers.