Toronto ranks near top in the world for number of ultra-rich residents

Kayleigh McKellar and her best friend Rafal Kucio bask in the sun backdropped by the city skyline as temperatures soar on in Toronto on Wednesday, July 17, 2013. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michelle Siu)

This might not be news to millionaires, but Toronto is one of the most important cities in the world for the incredibly rich.

The 2015 Wealth Report, prepared by real estate consultancy Knight Frank, lists Toronto as the 12th most important city on the planet for ultra-high-net-worth individuals – or UHNWIs, as the report refers to them.

According to the London-based group, that means people with a net worth exceeding US$30 million.

The report measures “the importance of cities for their business links, economic activity and lifestyle offer,” the authors say.

“In short, these are the cities where the wealthy congregate, work, invest, are educated and spend their leisure time.”

Toronto trailed London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Miami, Paris, Dubai, Beijing, Zurich and Tokyo, but earned the distinction of being the only Canadian city to crack top-40 list.

While other factors might define the overall quality of a city, the Knight Frank list was mostly based on the number of ultra-wealthy individuals calling each urban centre home and other attributes that make a location attractive to such people. Toronto has 1,216 UHNWI residents, according to the report. Montreal and Vancouver have 534 and 262, respectively.

The authors also note that Canadian cities might have found themselves higher up on the charts if other factors were more heavily accounted for.

“If we assess quality of life, a clutch of northern European, Canadian and Australian cities, led by the likes of Melbourne and Toronto, will dominate,” the 71-page report reads.

Toronto is also amongst the best places in the world to own luxury property or a second home, Knight Frank says. The price of prime residential property went up 7.1 per cent in 2014, making the city the 28th best in the world for affluent investors to expand their property portfolios.