KOCHI: India’s tech capital Bengaluru has emerged as one of the world’s fastest growing wealth hubs, with a 120 per cent jump in its millionaire population over the past decade.
It ranks third globally in terms of millionaire growth, behind Scottsdale in the US (125 per cent) and Shenzhen in China (142 per cent), according to a new report by Henley & Partners and New World Wealth.
Close on Bengaluru’s heels is Dubai, which saw a 102 per cent increase in its millionaire population between 2014 and 2024.
Dubai now ranks sixth on the global list of fast growing wealth hubs, having added tens of thousands of affluent residents over the past ten years. As of 2024, Dubai is home to 81,200 individuals with at least one million dollars in investable wealth.
The transformation of Dubai – from a modest desert outpost to a global financial and lifestyle magnet – has helped it leap ahead of established powerhouses.
The emirate posted the biggest gain in Henley’s Top 50 Cities for Millionaires in the past year, climbing from 21st to 18th place. Its growth outpaced even the Bay Area in the US, which includes tech-heavy San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
Dubai, preferred base
Dubai is also emerging as a preferred base for the ultra-rich. The city hosts 237 centi-millionaires (those with at least 100 million dollars) and 20 billionaires.
Alongside Abu Dhabi, which has 75 centi-millionaires, the UAE is expected to see this exclusive population more than double by 2034.
Henley & Partners noted that the shift in wealth to the Middle East reflects the region’s strategic efforts to become a global financial centre, bolstered by policies such as zero income and capital gains tax.
Globally, New York remains the world’s wealthiest city with 384,500 millionaires, followed by the Bay Area (342,400), Tokyo (292,300), Singapore (242,400), and Los Angeles (220,600).
Other cities still ahead of Dubai include London (215,700), Paris (160,100), Hong Kong (154,900), Sydney (152,900), and Shanghai (110,500).
Despite its larger base, London has seen a decline in wealth over the past decade, with its millionaire population falling 12 percent – unlike Bengaluru and Dubai, which continue to attract rising numbers of high-net-worth individuals.
