London: millionaires’ favourite town
For the past two years, London has held first place in the global rankings of cities favoured by the very wealthy. It has seized the crown from New York, now in second place. Paris remains in 7th place.
No change! London remains the favourite city in the world of those with assets of $30 million (€28 million) or more. This is just one of the findings contained in Knight Frank’s Wealth Report published this March. The 2016 global city rankings are founded on a survey of high-net worth individuals based on a variety of criteria connected with the development of their businesses, their lifestyle, their options for raising their children (schooling), and their leisure time.
*The Top 10 shifts very little
London holds fast to the top of the chart in 2016. Followed by New York, whose crown London took these past two years. A little further down the rankings, there are two Asian cities, Hong Kong in third and Singapore in fourth, then Dubai (5th), and Shanghai (6th). Those surveyed believe that Shanghai could even overtake Hong Kong in the next six years.
Note: large numbers of the very wealthy live in the City of London (4,900) and the Big Apple (5,600).
*Paris is the most accessible capital city
Ranked 7th in the Top 10, Paris is appreciated above all for its more reasonable prices. [add visual]
The survey also highlights that in geographical terms the French capital is easily accessible to high-net worth individuals of which some 19,000 live within a two-hour flight of Paris. That’s more than London (16,100) and New York (8,300).
Example:
A million euros will get you a property sized:
17m2 in Monaco
20m2 in Hong Kong
22m2 in London
27m2 in New York
40m2 in Geneva and Sydney
42m2 in Singapore
57m2 in Paris
58m2 in Peking
65m2 in Los Angeles
75m2 in Rome
77m2 in Miami
83m2 in Moscow
(Source: Knight Frank)
*France has a reputation for holiday properties
Méribel is the most sought after winter sports resort followed by Aspen (USA), and Courchevel.
In the rankings for second-homes, the Côte d’Azur ranks second behind Australia’s Gold Coast and before Ibiza (Spain).