It ranked second globally behind New York, which added 12 billionaires to reach 164, according to the Billionaire Census 2026 report released by wealth intelligence firm Altrata.
San Francisco was third with 99, followed by London, Singapore and Los Angeles.
Hong Kong was one of only two cities among the world’s 15 largest billionaire hubs to record a decline, alongside London.
Despite the decline in headcount, the combined net worth of Hong Kong’s billionaires continued to rise, reaching $319 billion, according to The Standard newspaper.
Altrata attributed the drop to persistent weakness in Hong Kong’s real estate sector and comparatively low portfolio exposure to wealth gains generated by the artificial intelligence boom.
Altrata’s Billionaire Census uses its proprietary database and valuation model covering publicly and privately held businesses and other investable assets. It determines a billionaire’s location based on their primary business address.
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Urban skyline of Hong Kong looking across Victoria Harbor. Photo from Pexels |
Globally, AI emerged as a major driver of billionaire wealth creation.
Among 150 listed companies that contribute the most to billionaire wealth, those that made meaningful investments in AI recorded 23% faster market capitalization growth than those that did not over 2024 and 2025, Altrata found.
The firm defined a meaningful AI investment as at least $30 million over the previous five years.
Record private investment, public listings and rising valuations of AI-focused startups have also created a wave of new billionaires across fields including foundation models, cloud applications, robotics and cybersecurity.
Founders and major shareholders of technology companies have been among the biggest beneficiaries because much of their wealth is held in company shares, making their fortunes particularly sensitive to rising technology valuations.
The AI boom also contributed to a growing concentration of wealth at the top. The world’s 29 billionaires worth more than $50 billion held a combined $4.1 trillion in 2025, equivalent to 27.2% of all billionaire wealth. Their share was 7.2% in 2017.
Across Asia, billionaire fortunes benefited from AI spillover effects and strong stock market gains. The region’s billionaire population increased 6.5% to 881.
South Korea’s technology-heavy KOSPI was the world’s best-performing major stock index, while Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong also posted strong gains.
Globally, the billionaire population rose 8.2% to a record 3,795 in 2025, the fastest growth in five years. Their combined wealth jumped 12.8% to an all-time high of $15.1 trillion.
The U.S. remained home to the most billionaires, with 1,265, more than three times China’s 363.