The World’s Wealthiest Cities Report, an annual guide to city wealth, recently crowned Monaco as the World’s Most Expensive city in their 2025 publication. Published by Henley & Partners in partnership with wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth, the report provides a comprehensive review of the 50 wealthiest cities in the world, with expert insights on economic mobility, prime property and wealth management.
Monaco topped the World’s Most Expensive Cities list, with 100 to 200 m2 apartment prices regularly exceeding USD 38,800 per m2. New York City ranks 2nd, with the average price of prime real estate being USD 27,500 per m2, followed by Hong Kong (USD 26,300 per m2) and London (USD 24,000 per m2). Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in France (USD 21,200 per m2) held onto 5th place with Paris (USD 20,400 per m2) usurping Sydney (USD 19,500 per m2) to take the 6th spot.
“Monaco, arguably the world’s top safe-haven for the super-rich, where the average wealth exceeds USD 20 million, is also the top-ranked city in the world on a wealth per capita basis. Over 40% of the Mediterranean principality’s residents are millionaires — the highest ratio of any city globally,” states the World’s Wealthiest Cities press release.
France boasts the most cities on the World’s Wealthiest Cities list, with six cities including Paris, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Nice, Cannes, Antibes, and Èze. The US came in second-place with four cities on the list, including New York City, LA, Palm Beach, and Miami Beach. Switzerland (Geneva and Lugano) and Italy (Portofino and Porto Cervo) each have two cities in the 2025 report.
The World Wealthiest Cities Report 2025 is published by Henley & Partners, the only known independent wealth research firm systematically tracking global wealth migration trends between countries and cities. The concept of residence and citizenship planning was created by Henley & Partners in the 1990s. As globalization has expanded, residence and citizenship have become topics of interest among the internationally mobile entrepreneurs and investors. Each year, hundreds of wealthy individuals and their advisors rely on expertise from Henley & Partners, who have over 60 offices worldwide.
