Mounting affluence in West Palm Beach and Palm Beach landed the cities in the Top 5 fastest growing "wealth hubs" worldwide, beating out leading contenders that included Dubai and San Francisco's Silicon Valley, according to a wealth tracking report released this week.
The two Palm Beach County cities experienced a 112% increase in millionaires between 2014 and 2024, ranking them in fourth place internationally in the Henley & Partners World's Wealthiest Cities Report 2025.
That's a jump from 11th place last year and an indication that the cities are maintaining a growth spurt that began during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ranking ahead of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach are the first-place finisher Shenzhen, China, runner up Scottsdale, Arizona, and third place Bengaluru, India. Dubai ranked sixth on the list with the Bay Area, including San Francisco and Silicon Valley, coming in seventh. Miami ranked in eighth.
"I'm not surprised by the move up, and it's a pretty substantial move," said Florida Atlantic University economics Professor Bryan Cutsinger about the Top 5 placement. "It's a very attractive place for a lot of reasons: No income tax, very friendly business environment, educated workforce."
In sheer numbers, the wealth report found that West Palm Beach and Palm Beach combined have 11,500 millionaires, 78 centimillionaires (people with $100 million-plus) and 10 billionaires.
The Business Development Board of Palm Beach County estimates there are 60 billionaires countywide, while an analysis of Forbes data by the Palm Beach Daily News found there are 68 billionaires with strong residential ties to the Town of Palm Beach.
While West Palm Beach was growing previous to 2020, the pandemic served as a catalyst for a hefty migration of people moving to Florida lured by fewer COVID-19 restrictions, lower taxes and sunshine.
"When the pandemic hit, (West Palm Beach) was this really unique place that was essentially a blank canvas," said Frisbie Group managing partner Rob Frisbie during a Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce forum in March.
Heavy-hitter financial companies such as Goldman Sachs, Millennium Management, Point 72 Asset Management and Citadel opened offices in West Palm Beach, bolstering the city's reputation as "Wall Street South."
More firms followed. Last year, financial firm Edward D. Jones, private equity firm Alvarez & Marsal and telecom firm Dycom Industries signed leases in downtown West Palm Beach buildings.
The downtown is also getting a new hospital from Cleveland Clinic, and a new graduate business school from Vanderbilt University.
Related Ross, West Palm Beach's dominant developer, is also working on a deal to buy 55 acres of city land to build a private school and housing.
"I always knew the city would grow, but I never thought we would grow to this extent in such a small period of time," said Kenneth Baboun, who is building the waterfront Alba Palm Beach condominium on North Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach.
Baboun said he recently sold a $10.6 million unit in Alba. He said the buyers could afford Palm Beach, but prefer West Palm, which just added another notable perk - an estiatorio Milos restaurant.
"My friends were like, 'Oh, and now you have a Milos.' That was a big thing," Baboun said. "It's grown into a very interesting city."
While West Palm Beach and Palm Beach are ranked high for growing wealth, they are still lower on the list for the number of affluent residents.
The Top 5 cities globally with the most millionaires are first-place New York City, followed by the Bay Area (San Francisco, Silicon Valley), Tokyo, Singapore and Los Angeles.
However, West Palm Beach and Palm Beach are considered a "hot spot" for centimillionaires with a "high growth" potential.
Business Development Board President Kelly Smallridge agrees with the growth assessment.
Although she said there may be some "potential pain to rightsizing and onshoring" under the Trump administration, she's been fielding more calls from international companies interested in opening local facilities.
"I remember a time when companies were saying they can't do business here because it's too expensive, now I'm getting more calls from international companies than I have in a long time," Smallridge said. "They realize they are going to have to open up something in the U.S."
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