Seoul ranked as the world’s 12th-richest city by ultra-high-net-worth population last year, posting the fastest growth among major cities amid the AI investment boom and a rally in technology stocks.According to Altrata’s World Ultra Wealth Report 2026, the global UHNW population, those with a net worth of at least $30 million, rose 14.4 percent from a year earlier to 556,850 in 2025, marking the fastest annual increase since 2017. The report attributed much of the growth to technology entrepreneurship and investment, particularly among those worth $100 million or more.New York topped the list with 23,785 UHNW individuals, followed by Hong Kong with 18,290 and Los Angeles with 12,995. Seoul ranked 12th with 6,220 UHNW residents, but recorded the world’s highest year-on-year growth rate at 36.3 percent.The report also pointed to widening global wealth inequality. According to the World Inequality Report 2026, billionaires’ wealth grew at an average annual rate of 8.5 percent between 1995 and 2025, compared with 3.4 percent for the bottom half of the world’s population.
don@heraldcorp.com
