The rich are getting richer. Many Americans struggled to keep their heads above water while navigating sky-high inflation and housing costs, but billionaires had another record-breaking year in 2023.
As inequality balloons, more people join the billionaire class. Last year, the global population grew by 4%, bumping the cohort to a new high—according to data firm Altrata’s recently released 2024 Billionaire Census, which uses data from Wealth-X.
That’s not the only milestone they broke: Billionaire wealth skyrocketed by 9% to a record $12.1 trillion in 2023.
Where do the affluent choose to live? North America has proven to be an especially cozy place for wealth to grow.
The area cemented itself “as the world’s leading billionaire region” in 2023, with one in three billionaires living there. It’s in part thanks to the fastest growth of billionaires by any other region, as the population of said individuals increased by 9.9%. Even so, every other region in the world besides Asia experienced a growth in billionaires—which Altrata attributes to the volatile Chinese stock market.
Narrowing it down even further, the United States has the greatest number of billionaires. That’s followed by China, Germany, India, and the United Kingdom. The U.S. billionaire population increased by 10% to 1,050 people. New York City remains the apple of billionaires’ eyes, with the most global billionaires.
Top 15 cities for billionaires
1. New York
2. Hong Kong
3. San Francisco
4. London
5. Moscow
6. Los Angeles
7. Beijing
8. Singapore
9. Shenzhen
10. Mumbai
11. Dubai
12. Paris, São Paulo, Istanbul (tied)
15. Hangzhou
The ultrarich get richer
Simply becoming a millionaire is no longer considered as exceptional, as wealth has become incredibly concentrated at the top. A group of just 18 people, each worth more than $50 billion, has been steadily making gains. Representing just less than 1% of billionaires (0.5%), their share of billionaire wealth has increased from under 4% in 2014 to 16% in 2023.
Large cities are to be their place to work and live, as the top 15 cities accounted for 28% of billionaires. While cities within the U.S. (New York and Los Angeles) experienced the greatest growth of billionaires, centers within China experienced a loss in population amid challenges in the economy.