Business English:Globalisation for Economists

Where the Global 1% Live Now?

 

London, Hong Kong, and New York rank as the top three cities for the ultra-rich, according to the 2012 Wealth Report released by real estate firm Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank.
The report is based on detailed data on the number, distribution, and preferred locations of high net-worth individuals (defined as households with more than $100 million in assets). This is the globe-straddling capitalist over-class that Cynthia Freeland has dubbed the "new global elite," or what the report itself labels the global economic "plutonomy" of the "richest 1%."
There are now 63,000 households worldwide with $100 million or more in assets, up 29 percent since 2006 and projected to rise even higher in the future. The top ten current preferred locations for the ultra-rich are:

1. London
2. New York
3. Hong Kong
4. Paris
5. Singapore
6. Miami
7. Geneva
8. Shanghai
9. Beijing
10. Berlin

The report also asked respondents to predict the most important cities in 10 years. The projected key cities of 2022 include:

1. London
2. New York
3. Beijing
4. Shanghai
5. Singapore
6. Hong Kong
7. Paris
8. São Paulo
9. Geneva
10. Berlin

On this list, Beijing and Shanghai move up, displacing Paris (which falls from fourth to seventh) and Miami (which drops off the list completely), along with Hong Kong and Singapore. Sao Paulo, Brazil, moves onto the list in eighth place.
What's behind these rankings? According to the report, the ultra-rich value cities that offer "personal safety and security" most, followed by "economic openness" and "social stability" which top "luxury housing" and "excellent educational opportunities." As the report's authors explain:

read the fulltext here: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/04/where-global-1-live-now/1668/