By Isoken Osagie
(NEW YORK) New York City is now second to Beijing as the world’s billionaire capital.
According to Forbes' 2021 World's Billionaire List, Beijing has exactly one more billionaire than New York City, 100 to 99.
The New York Post reports that Beijing's billionaire list added 33 new members during the COVID-19 pandemic, while New York City's increased by seven.
"I personally know countless millionaires and billionaires who have left," said Ronn Torossian, founder and CEO of 5W Public Relations. Torossian is also considering relocating his 200 employees from Manhattan to Miami.
Gristedes Foods supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis agreed with Torossian's sentiment. "New York is being destroyed. I was in Palm Beach last weekend, and I met more millionaires and billionaires who have moved recently than you have hair on your head. The key is they stay in Florida enough days each year to avoid New York taxes."
Catsimatidis cautioned that NYC's wealthiest are likely to move if the city does not improve.
Concerns over higher taxes and lesser quality of life amid the pandemic are part of the reasons some rich people are looking to flee the Big Apple.
"Billionaires can buy a new corporate jet and live in Florida, and easily fly back and forth between New York City and Miami with the money they can save by moving to lower-taxed states like Florida," added Catsimatidis.
Apparently, "wealthy people are now afraid to walk the streets in New York,” said Torossian. "A few of my hedge fund friends moved quietly to Palm Beach, and won’t return."
New York City's wealthiest are still ahead of Beijing's in terms of net worth — NYC's billionaires are worth a whopping $550 billion while Beijing’s are worth $490 billion.
This isn't the first time the city is outranked by Beijing's richest. The New York Post reports that in 2016, NYC slipped behind Beijing for a year.