When asked which city in the world has the most millionaires, many would likely answer New York, London, or Monaco, but they would be mistaken because it is Tokyo.
A study by the London-based independent research firm WealthInsight shows that Tokyo ranks first on the list of cities with the highest number of residents whose wealth, excluding the value of the homes they live in, exceeds one million dollars.
According to this study, published on Tuesday by the American TV station CNBC, there are 461,000 millionaires living in Tokyo. Following are New York with 389,000, then London (281,000), Paris (219,000), Frankfurt (217,000), Beijing (213,000), Osaka (190,000), Hong Kong (187,000), Shanghai (166,000), and Singapore (157,000).
The question arises as to why Tokyo, given that there are five million millionaires in the U.S., significantly more than two million in Japan. The reason for this, as explained in the study, is population density. American wealthy individuals are scattered across numerous cities, while the Japanese population is more concentrated in its capital.
More than one-fifth of Japan’s millionaires live in Tokyo, while only about 7 percent of all American millionaires reside in New York.
WealthInsight also estimates where the most millionaires will be in the future. Japan currently ranks second behind the U.S., but it could lose that position by 2020.
According to WealthInsight, China could then have 3.3 million millionaires, while Japan would have around 2.2 million. The U.S. would remain at the top of the list, potentially having 7.7 million millionaires at that time.
And on the list of cities with the most millionaires, Beijing could then take the lead from Tokyo.
