Despite serious concerns over the state of the union with a Biden–Trump presidential election rematch now underway, the USA remains the world’s undisputed leader in private wealth creation and accumulation. America accounts for 32% of global liquid investable wealth — a colossal USD 67 trillion, according to the 2024 USA Wealth Report published by global wealth advisory firm in partnership with New World Wealth. The USA is currently home to 37% of the world’s millionaires: some 5.5 million high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) who hold over USD 1 million in liquid investable assets. This number has risen by an impressive 62% over the past decade, well ahead of the worldwide growth rate of 38%.
Although the USA’s GDP is similar to that of rival superpower China, America ranks way ahead when it comes to liquid wealth (which for the purpose of this report only includes listed company holdings, cash holdings, and debt-free residential property holdings). Likewise, wealth per capita and the number of millionaires, centi-millionaires, and billionaires are all substantially higher stateside. The USA boasts 9,850 centi-millionaires versus China’s 2,352, and 788 billionaires versus China’s 305. While just over 862,000 millionaires live in China, its wealth per capita is only USD 18,800 compared to USD 201,500 in America, which ranks 6th globally after Monaco, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Australia, and Singapore when it comes to this measure.
Yet despite the USA’s affluence, Mehdi Kadiri, Head of North America at Henley & Partners, says record numbers of wealthy US-Americans are currently securing alternative residence rights abroad or additional citizenships. “US nationals are our firm’s single biggest cohort of applicants for investment migration programs right now and they also outnumbered every other nationality last year. With political divisions and societal tensions at an all-time high, American investors, entrepreneurs, and wealthy families are increasingly hedging their bets and pursuing backup citizenship or residence abroad, signaling declining faith in the domestic outlook.”
Commenting in the 2024 USA Wealth Report, award-winning journalist and author Misha Glenny says that although just under 2% of the world’s population have the right to decide who will be the next US president, their choice will have far-reaching consequences for the remaining 8 billion around the globe. “The USA remains the decisive economic power in the world but politically it has rarely appeared so unsure of itself. Despite its economic performance, the perception of ordinary voters ahead of November’s high-stakes election is one of stagnating living standards, rising debt levels, and a dangerously polarized society.”
America’s wealthiest and priciest cities
New York City continues to wear the crown as the wealthiest city in the USA (and the world) with 349,500 millionaires calling the Big Apple home (of which 744 are centi-millionaires and 60 are billionaires), followed by the Bay Area (305,700), Los Angeles (212,100), Chicago (120,500), and Houston (90,900). Dallas (68,600), Seattle (54,200), Boston (42,900), Miami (35,300), and Austin (32,700) all make it into this year’s Top 10, with Washington, D.C. in 11th place with 28,300 resident millionaires.
Looking at wealth growth over the past decade, thanks to its tech boom, Texas’s capital Austin has enjoyed the biggest leap, with a 110% increase in its millionaire population between 2013 and 2023. The Arizona desert city of Scottsdale and Florida’s Palm Beach and West Palm Beach have also proved to be millionaire magnets with increases of 102% and 93%, respectively, in their HNWI residents over the last 10 years. Greenwich and Darien on Connecticut’s affluent Gold Coast, and Northern California’s Bay Area, have sported wealth growth of over 80%, and Miami, Dallas, D.C., Seattle, and Houston have all seen their millionaire resident cohorts surge by over 70%. Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at New World Wealth says “future wealth hotspots to watch are Salt Lake City, Tampa, and Naples. Over the next decade, we can expect these cities to attract rising numbers of high-net-worth residents”.
When it comes to the most expensive real estate in America, New York again takes the lead with the average price per m2of a ‘prime’ (200 to 400 m2) apartment in the city standing at an eye-watering USD 28,400. Next up is LA, where the plushiest pads fetch an average of USD 17,800 per m2, followed closely by Palm Beach (USD 17,500), Miami Beach (USD 17,200), and the Bay Area, where you can spend up to USD 15,500 per m2 for premium residential units in the most affluent locations.
USA remains a top destination for migrating millionaires
The USA is projected to see a surge in incoming millionaires in 2024, with the Bay Area, Austin, Miami, and West Palm Beach among the most popular destinations. Net inflows of HNWIs are expected to exceed 3,500 in 2024 compared to just over 2,200 that moved to the country in 2023.
Commenting in the 2024 USA Wealth Report, global investment expert and personal finance author Jeff D. Opdyke says, “America and the world are barreling towards the most consequential US presidential election in a century, the ramifications of which could very well define the future of American democracy, maybe even the composition of the union itself. Changes to either would, of course, ripple across the world. Whatever the outcome, one result seems certain: outbound migration is very likely to ramp up among Americans of both political stripes.”
And as Annie Pforzheimer, Senior Non-Resident Associate at Washington thinktank the Center for Strategic and International Studies, points out in the report, it’s unlikely these deep and bitter divisions will be resolved any time soon. “Despite all sides agreeing that immigration is both important and in crisis, bipartisan reform legislation is unlikely before the elections in November 2024. Biden would use a second administration to fine-tune existing rules and continue a push for legislative fixes, while Trump would use all restrictive capabilities offered to the executive branch and block any reform.”
America’s millionaires are on the move
In terms of private wealth outflows, Henley & Partners received the most enquiries from US citizens on record in 2023 (an increase of 500% over the past five years), making US-Americans the highest ranked nationality worldwide when it comes to applying for residence and citizenship by investment programs. To meet this significant and growing demand from US investors, the firm has opened six new offices over past twelve months in the wealth hubs of Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, and San Fransico.
Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners, Dominic Volek, says it’s not just the current political landscape that’s driving demand. “Alternative citizenship and residence rights have always been seen as the ultimate insurance policy against economic and political uncertainties but many of our clients are also using investment migration programs to diversify their assets and create new opportunities across multiple jurisdictions worldwide. And then of course, as certain regional conflicts and wars intensify, citizens of major world powers, including the USA, are increasingly seeking the safety net of additional passports to travel on.”
According to the firm’s latest client data, the most sought-after investment migration option for US citizens remains the Portugal Golden Residence Permit Program followed by Malta’s investment offering, which allows for the granting of citizenship by a certificate of naturalization to foreign individuals and their families who contribute to the country’s economic development. Volek explains that neither option “requires applicants to spend a significant amount of time in the country so both are particularly attractive to wealthy Americans who still plan to spend the majority of their time in the USA while enjoying the benefits and security of holding a second residence or citizenship of another country.”
Other European residence programs that lead to citizenship with no or very minimal residence requirements in Greece, Italy, and Spain are also highly placed on American wish lists, with Spain top of the leaderboard in 2024 thus far. While the Mediterranean coastline exerts an obvious lifestyle allure, through these programs US-American investors and their families can primarily reside in the USA but have the option to relocate at any point.
Read the full 2024 USA Wealth Report
Ends.
Notes to Editors
About Henley & Partners
is the global leader in residence and citizenship by investment. Each year, hundreds of wealthy individuals and their advisors rely on our expertise and experience in this area. The firm’s highly qualified professionals work together as one team in over 45 offices worldwide.
The concept of residence and citizenship by investment was created by Henley & Partners in the 1990s. As globalization has expanded, residence and citizenship have become topics of significant interest among the increasing number of internationally mobile entrepreneurs and investors whom we proudly serve every day.
The firm also runs a leading government advisory practice that has raised more than USD 12 billion in foreign direct investment. Trusted by governments, the firm has been involved in strategic consulting and in the design, set-up, and operation of the world’s most successful residence and citizenship programs.
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