Singapore for the fourth year in a row has taken first place in the ranking of the most expensive cities for affluent people, which is calculated based on the cost of real estate, cars, and luxury items. This comes from the Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report released on July 7 by the Swiss bank Julius Baer (the document is available on Oninvest). Bloomberg drew attention to this.

Details

Singapore remains the most expensive city for wealthy people largely because of the high cost of real estate and cars: these two categories have the greatest weight in Julius Baer’s ranking, the report says. In addition, the bank points to the strong Singapore dollar. Over the past 12 months, the average cost of living for affluent people in Singapore has risen in line with the global average result—by 10% in dollar terms.

Zurich moved up to second place, pushing London down. This was helped by the strengthening of the franc, which is supported by the country’s reputation as a stable state and the role of Swiss currency as a ‘safe harbor’ for investors, Julius Baer believes.

For the first time since the ranking was created in 2020, Monaco entered the top 3. Hong Kong and London rounded out the top five. The most notable jump in the ranking was made by Sydney: it rose by six positions at once—to eighth place. Julius Baer linked this to the strengthening of the Australian dollar and the country’s geographical remoteness, which makes importing premium goods more expensive.

Dubai dropped to 14th place. According to Julius Baer, this is due to price increases in other megacities rather than the fact that life in the emirate itself has become cheaper. In addition, the data were collected before the start of the US–Iran war, which also affected the Arab Emirates. “Much has changed” in the Middle East since then, the Swiss bank acknowledged.

“In 2026, it is obvious that the world continues to be a difficult place, and uncertainty remains at a very high level. In these conditions, stable cities and countries become even more attractive,” the Julius Baer report says.

For the first time in three years, no city from North or South America made it into the top ten—primarily due to the weakening of the US dollar against other major currencies, Bloomberg noted. At the same time, wealth growth in North America over the past year remained active: according to the bank, 47% of affluent respondents from this region reported a significant increase in the value of their assets.

A significant contribution to the index growth came from the rising price of gold: jewelry prices increased by 16.4%, and watches by 15.5%, Julius Baer calculated.

How it was calculated

The Julius Baer index covers 25 cities. It tracks price trends for 20 categories of luxury goods and services—from residential real estate and cars to business-class flights, education in private schools, and dinners at fine-dining restaurants, Bloomberg explained. In a survey conducted from February to March 2026, 360 affluent people with household assets of $1 million or more took part. ㅤ

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