An IMGlobalWealth.com News Report
Julius Baer’s 2026 Lifestyle Index reads less like a luxury cost table than a map of where global wealth now feels safest. The Swiss private bank behind the index is one of Europe’s best-known names in wealth management, with a brand built around private banking, capital preservation and advice for globally mobile affluent clients. Its ranking of the most expensive cities for high-net-worth living, led again by Singapore, is not simply about the price of property, cars, schools or fine dining. It is a measure of where the wealthy are prepared to pay a premium for institutional confidence, currency strength, personal security and long-term jurisdictional comfort.
“The absence of American cities from the top ten is therefore striking”
The economic backdrop matters. Many of the cities at the top sit inside high-income, globally connected economies, or inside jurisdictions that have built specialised roles in finance, trade, wealth management, education and luxury consumption. Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, France, Australia and Italy all offer deep service economies, advanced infrastructure and high-value urban ecosystems. Monaco adds a different model: extreme scarcity, tax efficiency and social exclusivity. Shanghai and Bangkok, meanwhile, show how Asian wealth creation and consumption are pulling luxury pricing away from its old Atlantic axis.
“Singapore has turned competence into international reputation”
Safety is an equally important part of the premium. The wealthy are not only buying large apartments, private schools and access to restaurants. They are buying predictability. Numbeo’s current Safety Index places Singapore, Hong Kong and Zurich among the safer large urban centres in its rankings, while Julius Baer itself points to Singapore’s stability, strong rule of law and safe-haven appeal as central to its position. These are not decorative advantages. For globally mobile families, they affect where assets are held, where children are educated and where succession planning is anchored. (Numbeo)
Quality of life reinforces the same pattern. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index assesses cities across stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Zurich and Sydney, both in Julius Baer’s top ten for luxury living costs, also appear among the world’s most liveable cities. That overlap is telling. At the top end of the market, high prices often follow places where public order, healthcare, infrastructure and global connectivity are taken seriously. (Economist Intelligence Unit)
“For the wealthy, high prices are no longer just a cost of consumption. Increasingly, they are the entry fee to safety, status and strategic positioning”
Soft power completes the equation. Paris and Milan turn culture, fashion and heritage into economic value. London still trades on law, language, finance, education and media influence, even as tax and political signals have become less reassuring. Singapore has turned competence into international reputation. China’s rise in Brand Finance’s 2026 Global Soft Power Index, where it holds second place, adds weight to Shanghai’s position as a luxury and wealth centre, while the United Kingdom, though slipping, remains fourth. The point is not that soft power makes a city expensive on its own. It is that prestige, credibility and global familiarity help cities monetise demand. (Brand Finance)
The absence of American cities from the top ten is therefore striking. It does not mean New York has become cheap. It suggests that the geography of affluence is being redrawn by currencies, geopolitics, capital mobility and perceptions of stability. For the wealthy, high prices are no longer just a cost of consumption. Increasingly, they are the entry fee to safety, status and strategic positioning.
