This year’s report finds that, across all the regions surveyed, wealthy individuals are experiencing a new lifestyle boom, with demand surging for leisure travel, fine dining and luxury hotels. For those looking to enjoy their assets to the full, however, differences in the cost of ‘living well’ continue to be often strikingly apparent from one city to the other.
To accurately rank these cities, as in previous years, the report’s Lifestyle Index analyses the cost of a basket of goods and services representative of ‘living well’ in 25 cities around the world. This provides an overview of the relative cost of maintaining a high-net-worth lifestyle in various major urban centres.
A new leader
Asia relinquished its status as the most costly region in which to live well following four years atop the ranking. While Singapore reigns supreme as the world’s most expensive city for the second year in a row, followed by Hong Kong in second place, the lower ranking for cities like Shanghai, which dropped from third to fourth, and particularly Tokyo, now in 23rd place, saw Asia Pacific (APAC) edged out of first place in the overall regional ranking by a resurgent Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Every single European city moved up the rankings this year, led by London, which took the final spot on this year’s podium. Zurich catapulted eight places up the ranking, making it the biggest climber in this year’s survey, while Milan and Paris also leapt up the ranking by six and five places respectively. While Dubai dropped down both the regional and global rankings this year, to sixth and 12th respectively, strong spending on real estate and the city’s status as the most expensive for a number of discretionary items once again highlight the huge wealth of the Middle East’s booming financial hub.
Following a brief sojourn last year as the second most expensive region in which to live well, the Americas fell to the back of the pack again in 2024, although both New York and São Paulo remain in the top ten. This region also threw up some eye-catching results – ranking significantly more expensive for a whole host of purchases and laying claim to the most extreme increase for any item year-on-year (hotel suites). It’s also a case of ‘watch this space’ in the Americas over the year ahead, with steeper prices expected off the back of strengthening currencies and dwindling exports.
Slower price rises
This year, the average price rises across our index of goods and services eased off to four per cent in USD, compared to six per cent in 2023. Overall, prices this year grew faster for goods than services, with goods up five per cent on average in USD terms and services up three per cent. Notably, many of the biggest jumps up and down our Index are the result of currency fluctuations, with the strength of currencies such as the Swiss franc and the poor performance of currencies such as the Japanese yen clearly seen in the performance of these cities in USD terms.
Price tags in the luxury goods sector have faced more scrutiny in the past 12 months as consumers rally against extreme price rises. High-end luxury demand has declined and, as we see signs of changing consumer attitudes, some brands have pushed pause on price rises for the first time. Nevertheless, HNWIs continue to show a willingness to spend on the items in our index, notably on hospitality, fashion, and accessories. The greatest price increases this year are for fashion and jewellery, which comes on the back of several years of increased raw material, energy, and staffing costs, coupled with strong currencies in Europe, where many of the luxury houses are based.
What does this changing picture mean for the spending habits and sentiments of HNWIs globally? This year’s Lifestyle Survey delves into the lives and consumption trends of HNWIs in 15 countries in regions across the globe to paint a broader picture of wealthy life around the world and interrogate the reasons behind the shifts in spending. You’ll find more survey findings in the downloadable report below.
Overall, the results of this year’s report suggest that life has settled into a new pattern following the impact of the global pandemic. However, increasing geopolitical tension and ongoing financial turbulence mean it’s more important than ever that wealthy individuals put a robust wealth management strategy in place to support them and their families for generations to come.
You can explore the report below for the full index, survey findings, regional overviews, and more.