UK and London top global millionaire rankings

More millionaires migrated to the UK between 2003 and 2013 than to any other country worldwide, and London topped the rankings for millionaire residents in a single city.

A net flow of 114,100 dollar millionaires flocked to the UK over the decade in question, taking the country’s total to 815,000, or 13 people per 1,000 residents.

More than 60 per cent of millionaires moving to the UK since 2003 were from Europe, according to the report compiled by specialists in wealthy individuals, New World Wealth. The figures exclude the value of primary residences.

The UK is now host to 815,000 dollar millionaires, third globally behind the US (4.034m) and Japan (1.056m), but its net inflow represented a 16 per cent increase over the decade, compared with just 1 per cent for the US.

Adjusting for population brings the UK down to fourth place globally, behind Singapore (42 per 1,000 residents), Switzerland (33) and Hong Kong (23), but just ahead of the US.

No other country worldwide saw a net inflow of more than 100,000 since 2003. Singapore and the US each took in just over 40,000, with Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and the UAE the only other countries welcoming more than 10,000.

London’s dollar millionaire population was 339,200 in 2013, or 2.5 per cent of its entire metropolitan population, and 42 per cent of all UK millionaires. The British capital edged ahead of New York on 300,100 (1.5 per cent of residents).

Geneva was the highest ranked city after taking account of metropolitan population. Some 5.9 per cent of residents in 2013 were dollar millionaires, ahead of Zurich (4.6 per cent), Singapore (4.5 per cent), San Francisco (2.6 per cent) and London.

New York was one of seven US cities in the top 30 worldwide by raw number of millionaires, while Germany had three cities and China, Japan and Switzerland each accounted for two or more cities.

There were no Middle Eastern or African cities in the top 30, though Istanbul (35,000 millionaires) came closest. The highest ranked African city was Johannesburg with just over 23,000 in 2013.