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AI‑fuelled boom lifts global billionaire count, Hong Kong retains top spot in Asia
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Zhu Wenqianin BeijingPublished: 1:00pm, 31 Aug 2026
Hong Kong maintained its lead as the Asian city with the most billionaires last year, though mainland Chinese cities were quickly catching up thanks to wealth accumulation from the artificial intelligence boom, according to New York-based data company Altrata.
Globally, Hong Kong ranked second in number of billionaires behind New York, while Beijing and Shenzhen secured spots among the top 15 cities, according to the latest data from Altrata.
While Hong Kong’s aggregate billionaire net worth continued to climb, the city’s billionaire headcount slipped to 106, two fewer than a year earlier, compared to New York, which saw 164 billionaires, an increase of 12 in the same period.
“This year’s Billionaire Census shows a billionaire class being reshaped by AI at a pace we haven’t seen before, but the story doesn’t end there,” Paul Sutton, vice-president of sales at Altrata, said in a statement. “Wealth is concentrating faster at the very top.”
San Francisco, London, Singapore, Los Angeles and Beijing took the third through seventh spots, respectively. Beijing had 61 billionaires, while Shenzhen and Dubai tied for eighth place with 43 billionaires each.
The global billionaire population recorded its strongest expansion since 2020. The US and China remained the only countries with more than one city in the top 15 rankings, though Asian cities were becoming increasingly prominent, Altrata noted in its report released on August 27.
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