This Southeast Asian city is the world’s most expensive for the super rich — Hong Kong comes second

Sky-high property prices, exorbitant car ownership costs and expensive private medical care, among other factors, have kept Singapore the most expensive city for the super rich in 2024, according to a report by Julius Baer.

The Swiss bank analyzed the prices of 20 consumer goods and services bought and used by high net worth individuals across 25 cities to arrive at the rankings.

The “cost of living extremely well,” which includes cars, whisky, jewelry and housing, has been on the rise in Singapore, the bank said in its Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report released Tuesday, adding that the city-state continues to attract the ultra-wealthy due to its economic and political stability.

“The Singapore government works hard to make the country attractive to global business and wealthy people, and the currency remains strong. All this is reflected in its continued status as the world’s most expensive city,” the report said.

The price of owning a car in Singapore — the most expensive globally at 2.5 times the average — soared 15% from a year earlier in U.S. dollar terms. The cost of private education rose by almost 14%, while ladies’ handbag and shoes got pricier by 10%. Prices of men’s suits and watches rose by more than 5%.

Singapore was followed by Hong Kong, which upstaged Shanghai to emerge as the second most expensive city for the wealthy. It was ranked as the costliest city to engage a lawyer in and the second most expensive for purchasing property.

Prices for hotel suites (+22.9%), ladies’ shoes (+12.7%), and ladies’ handbag (+8.6%) saw the biggest increases in the city.

London gained a spot this year to take the third position, partly due to the UK exiting a technical recession last month, the British pound strengthening in 2023, and continued economy adjustments from post-Brexit normalizations, the report highlighted.

Private school education in the city was the most expensive globally, with costs rising almost 14% from a year earlier.

London Hotel suites and jewelry were the second-most expensive items across the 25 cities, with prices soaring 38.3% and 17.%, respectively.

Here’s Julius Baer’s list of the world’s 10 most expensive cities for high net worth individuals:

1. Singapore
2. Hong Kong
3. London
4. Shanghai
5. Monaco
6. Zurich
7. New York
8. Paris
9. Sao Paulo
10. Milan

As per the report, the slide in the Japanese yen has made the city much less expensive.

The currency weakened to 160 against the U.S. dollar in April for the fist time since 1990, and has plunged 13.25% against the greenback since the start of the year, Refinitiv data showed.

“As trivial as it seems, we tend to forget that the costs of living look completely different in the eyes of a stranger – especially if that person thinks in US dollars or Swiss francs instead of the local currency. Currency and context matter,” Christian Gattiker, head of research at Julius Baer highlighted.

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