As Toronto seems to only get more and more expensive, it’s also seems to be attracting more and more of the ultra-rich — and a new report has confirmed exactly how many millionaires live in our city. Toronto ranks 13 out of the top 50 countries in a new wealthiest cities report based on the number of millionaires with liquid investable wealth of $1 million USD ($1.37 million in Canadian dollars) or more.

The 2024 World’s Wealthiest Cities Report, published annually by wealth migration specialists Henley & Partners in collaboration with global data intelligence firm New World Wealth, assessed all the millionaires, centi-millionaires (people with investable wealth of over $100 million USD) and billionaires in cities across the world and ranked them.

For the report, researchers systematically tracked global wealth migration trends between countries and cities. The movements of over 150,000 high-net-worth individuals were tracked in an in-house database, with a special focus on those with over $30 million USD (about $41 million) in listed company holdings.

Toronto, in spot 13, is officially the wealthiest city in Canada — it’s home to 106,300 millionaires, 195 centi-millionaires and 18 billionaires. The only other Canadian city on the list, Vancouver (which made it in spot 31), has significantly fewer millionaires — the report found the west coast city has 41,400 millionaires, 80 centi-millionaires and 10 billionaires.

However, when it comes to millionaire growth, Toronto falls behind Vancouver — between 2013 and 2023, Toronto increased its millionaire population by 25 per cent, while Vancouver increased its millionaire population by 50 per cent over the past decade.

Even with Toronto boasting the highest millionaire population in Canada, the city is notorious for its high cost of living, with a recent poll showing that Toronto ranks 86 out of 220 cities for rental affordability, and a new report suggesting that the annual cost of “thriving” for a single, working-aged adult in the GTA is between $61,654 and $83,680 after taxes. 

At least we’re not New York City — which not only took top spot for the most millionaires in the world, but it also ranked second on Henley & Partners’ list of the most expensive cities in the world.

The U.S. definitely leads the pack for millionaires, with 11 cities cited in the top 50. The total wealth held by NYC residents exceeds $3 trillion USD ($4.11 trillion CAD), which is higher than the total wealth held in most major G20 countries. The city also has 349,500 millionaires, 744 centi-millionaires and 60 billionaires.

Northern California’s Bay Area, encompassing San Francisco and Silicon Valley, comes in second place. The Bay Area has enjoyed one of the world’s highest wealth growth rates, increasing its millionaire population by a whopping 82 per cent over the past decade, and is now home to 305,700 millionaires, 675 centi-millionaires and 68 billionaires.

Tokyo, which led the pack as the world’s wealthiest city a decade ago, has seen a 5 per cent decline in its resident high-net-worth-individual population over the past ten years, and now sits in third place with 298,300 millionaires. Singapore has climbed two places to fourth spot on the global ranking, following an impressive 64 per cent increase in millionaires over the past 10 years — it will likely unseat Tokyo as Asia’s wealthiest city very soon. Singapore now boasts 244,800 resident millionaires, 336 centi-millionaires and 30 billionaires.

London, which was once the wealthiest city in the world, now sits in fifth place with just 227,000 millionaires, 370 centi-millionaires and 35 billionaires — a decline of 10 per cent from 2013 to 2023. In contrast, Los Angeles, home to 212,100 millionaires, 496 centi-millionaires and 43 billionaires, has jumped up two places over the 10-year period to sixth place and has seen a notable 45 per cent growth in millionaires in the past decade.

Paris, which is the wealthiest city in mainland Europe, retained its seventh place on the ranking with 165,000 resident millionaires, while Sydney ascended to eighth position with 147,000 resident millionaires, after experiencing exceptionally strong wealth growth over the past 20 years.

Monaco, where the average wealth exceeds $20 million USD ($27.4 million) is also the top-ranked city in the world on a wealth per capita basis. Over 40 per cent of its residents are millionaires — the highest ratio of any city globally.