Listen, it’s great to have money, but rich people have problems too, okay? This rings especially true for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in Hong Kong, as our city has been ranked the world’s third most expensive city to live luxuriously, according to the Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2025 by Swiss private banking group Julius Baer.
Published annually, the report captures the ‘cost of living extremely well’ in 25 major global cities, showing the relative prices of the goods and services required to maintain a Crazy Rich Asians-like lifestyle. Amidst a shaky global economy, trade wars, and geopolitical tensions worldwide, Singapore has retained its place on the top of the chart, crowned as the world’s most expensive city for luxury since 2023. Hong Kong was second place in 2024, but this year we were bumped down to third place by London.
According to Julius Baer, even though we have slipped one spot in the rankings, Hong Kong remains a buoyant investment environment, continuing to attract family offices of HNWIs and families. But they had better keep on the straight and narrow, because the costliest item in Hong Kong within the Julius Baer Lifestyle Index is hiring lawyer services. In contrast, Champagne has become the cheapest index item, likely due to tax cuts on liquor and alcohol duties last year, so go ahead and pop more bottles!
Zooming into the details, the price of watches and cars in Hong Kong have risen by 11.1 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively, while the price of men’s suits and bicycles have dropped. In hospitality and travel, business class flights rose 10 percent, while fine dining costs fell 5.9 percent and hotel suites decreased by 26.1 percent. Despite a 1.2-percent decline in our currency prices this year, we remain the second most expensive for real estate purchases on Julius Baer’s index.
Would you continue living and investing in Hong Kong as an affluent individual, or would you rather take your gold bullion and trust fund somewhere else lower on the list? See the full rankings below.
The top 10 most expensive cities for living well:
- Singapore
- London
- Hong Kong
- Monaco
- Zurich
- Shanghai
- Dubai
- New York
- Paris
- Milan
Visit the Julius Baer website for the full report.
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