As global wealth at the very top continues to expand, with fortunes like Elon Musk’s nearing historic highs, one question stands out:
Does birthplace shape the odds of becoming a billionaire?
To shed more light on this age-old question, I am sharing a new international ranking highlighting the cities that have produced the most billionaires.
54-year-old Elon Musk, the head of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter), became the first individual to surpass a net worth of half a trillion U.S. dollars in October 2025, according to Forbes. A month later, Tesla shareholders approved a record-breaking remuneration package that could potentially be worth $1 trillion. To better understand.
To better understand how such extraordinary wealth is accumulated – and the conditions that may influence its creation – the team at PlayersTime compiled data as of late February 2026, covering 1,647 current billionaires for whom verified information was available. They traced the countries, states or provinces, and cities of birth, identifying the most frequent locations.
The research shows that as of the start of 2026, there are an impressive 3,177 individuals with a net worth of US$1 billion or more around the world. Based on 1,647 individuals with a verified place of birth, leading the ranking is New York City, where at least 69 billionaires were born. Asia’s major financial hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore follow, with 57 and 30 ultra-high net-worth individuals, respectively. In Europe, Milan records the highest number of billionaire births at 16, while Stockholm ranks second with 11.
Cities where the most billionaires were born:
- New York City: 69 billionaires | U.S.’s total billionaire residents: 934
- Hong Kong: 57 billionaires | Hong Kong’s total billionaire residents: 65
- Singapore: 30 billionaires | Singapore’s total billionaire residents: 54
- Mumbai: 28 billionaires | India’s total billionaire residents: 212
- Moscow: 25 billionaires | Russia’s total billionaire residents: 140
- Milan: 16 billionaires | Italy’s total billionaire residents: 80
- Los Angeles: 16 billionaires | U.S.’s total billionaire residents: 934
- Rio de Janeiro: 15 billionaires | Brazil’s total billionaire residents: 69
- Chicago: 15 billionaires | U.S.’s total billionaire residents: 934
- San Francisco: 13 billionaires | U.S.’s total billionaire residents: 934