You may be closer to being a billionaire than you ever expected: A recent report on wealth concentration in the United States raises the question of whether the country’s 5,492,000 billionaires are hiding in plain sight.
The United States has more millionaires, centenarians, and billionaires than any other country: over 5.4 million millionaires, nearly 10,000 centenarians, and 788 billionaires.
New York City has historically been one of the most wealth-dense cities in the world, with 349,500 billionaires, or 1 for every 24 people in the city.
British asset management firm Henley & Partners analysed data from New World Wealth to produce the US Wealth Report.
Here’s where America’s billionaires and millionaires live.
Which cities have the most wealth?
The Bay Area, which includes San Francisco and Silicon Valley, has the highest concentration of billionaires, with roughly 1 in 13 people in the city being a billionaire, followed by Seattle, where 1 in 14 people belong to the billionaire club.
The following cities are home to more than 25,000 billionaires (in order of total number):
◾ New York
◾ Bay Area (including San Francisco and Silicon Valley)
◾ Los Angeles
◾ Chicago
◾ Houston
◾ Dallas
◾ Seattle
◾ Boston
◾ Miami
◾ Austin, Texas
◾ Washington DC
Can’t see the map? Click here to see where most billionaires and multimillionaires live in the United States.
The United States has $67 trillion in liquid, investable assets, more than any other country. Liquid assets include stocks in publicly traded companies, cash holdings and undebted residential real estate holdings, according to the report.
How has wealth concentration changed over time?
By 2023, roughly 30% of the nation’s wealth, or $44.5 trillion, was held by the top 1% of income earners.
According to Federal Reserve data, the share of wealth held by the top 20% of U.S. income earners has increased between 1990 and 2023. At the same time, the share of wealth held by America’s middle class (the middle 60% of income earners) has declined over the past 30 years.
Who joined the list of America’s billionaires this year?
According to Forbes magazine, there are more billionaires today than ever before, with 265 people joining the billionaire club this year alone.
Forbes found “2,781 people worldwide,” a record number of billionaires for 2024. Their combined fortunes amount to $14.2 trillion.
Todd Graves, founder of the fast-food chain Raising Cane’s, is one of 67 Americans on this year’s billionaires list. Graves has an estimated net worth of $9.1 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
Pop star Taylor Swift made an estimated $1.1 billion this year, joining NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson on the list, who has an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion.
Contributor: Amaris Encinas