People in Singapore pay 10% higher for women's handbags and shoes, and more than 5% for men's suits and watches.
Ore Huiying | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Skyrocketing property prices, exorbitant car ownership costs and expensive private medical care are among the factors that will make Singapore the most expensive city for the super-rich by 2024, according to a report by Julius Baer.
The Swiss bank analyzed the prices of twenty consumer goods and services purchased and used by wealthy individuals in 25 cities to arrive at the rankings.
The “cost of living” – which includes cars, whisky, jewellery and housing – is on the rise in Singapore, the bank said in its Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report released on Tuesday, adding that the city-state continues to attract the ultra-rich because of its economic and political stability.
“Singapore's government is working hard to make the country attractive to global business and wealthy people, and the currency remains strong. All this is reflected in its continued status as the most expensive city in the world,” the report said.
The price of owning a car in Singapore – the most expensive in the world at 2.5 times the average – rose 15% from a year earlier, measured in US dollars. The cost of private education rose by almost 14%, while women's handbags and shoes became more expensive by 10%. The prices of men's suits and watches rose by more than 5%.
Singapore was followed by Hong Kong, which overtook Shanghai to become the second most expensive city for the wealthy. It was ranked as the most expensive city to hire a lawyer and the second most expensive city to buy real estate.
Prices for hotel suites (+22.9%), women's shoes (+12.7%) and women's handbags (+8.6%) saw the biggest increases in the city.
London has moved into third place this year, partly due to Britain emerging from a technical recession last month, the British pound strengthening in 2023 and ongoing economic adjustments due to post-Brexit normalizations, so the report emphasizes.
Private education in the city was the most expensive in the world, with costs rising by almost 14% from a year earlier.
Hotel suites and jewelery in London were the second most expensive items in the 25 cities, with prices rising by 38.3% and 17.% respectively.
Here is Julius Baer's list of the 10 most expensive cities in the world for high net worth individuals:
- Singapore
- Hong-Kong
- London
- Shanghai
- Monaco
- Zurich
- New York
- Paris
- Sao Paulo
- Milan
Where is Tokyo?
While Asia-Pacific's biggest financial centers have taken the top two positions, Tokyo – once known as 'the poster child for an ultra-expensive city in the 1990s' – has fallen eight places to number 23 this year.
According to the report, the slide is in the The Japanese yen has made the city much cheaper.
The currency weakened against the US dollar for the first time since 1990 in April to 160 against the US dollar, having fallen 13.25% against the greenback since the start of the year, Refinitiv data showed.
“As trivial as it seems, we tend to forget that the cost of living looks very different to a stranger – especially if that person thinks in US dollars or Swiss francs rather than the local currency. Currency and context matter,” Christian Gattiker, head of research at Julius Baer, emphasizes.
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