If the richest city in the world were depicted in a cartoon, it would probably be full of golden, sparkling buildings. Its beautiful citizens would all wear rich, velvet clothing and travel in luxurious carriages.
In real life, however, the richest city in the world is nothing like that. It's crowded and hectic. Brimming with tall, glass skyscrapers, it is a place where you can find fashionable people, who frequently travel by public transportation (trains, buses, even boats). Which city is it? Find out here, and see which others have made the list.
Wealthy Cities
There are multiple ways to calculate what makes a city the richest in the world. For this list, the rankings are based on the cities' gross domestic product (GDP, or the amount of goods and services produced), as calculated by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and distributed by City Mayors. However, had the list been based on personal net earnings, Zurich, Switzerland; Dublin, Ireland; and Oslo, Norway, would have been at the top, according to the Swiss-headquartered investment banking firm UBS.
1. Tokyo.
The capital of Japan is also the richest place in the world. Japan's economy is bolstered by its largest companies, 64 of which made the Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest corporations. Car manufacturing companies (including fifth-ranked Toyota) and electronic companies (such as Sony and Toshiba) are particularly strong. Tokyo is also home to the world's second largest stock market.
2. New York City.
Home to the largest stock market in the world, New York is well-known for its tiny but pricey apartments. With one- and two-bedroom condos costing millions of dollars, it's no surprise to find the Big Apple on this list. In addition, 20 of the world's largest corporations (the biggest, with $159 billion in revenue, is Citigroup) are headquartered in New York, according to the Fortune Global 500 list. Maybe that explains who can afford those multimillion-dollar homes.
3. Los Angeles.
Compared with the first two cities on this list, L.A. sees a drastic drop in GDP, but it's still enough to secure it the third highest rating. It's no surprise that the entertainment industry is one of the largest drivers of the L.A. economy (the city brings in up to $100 million from the Golden Globes awards ceremony alone), but it also takes in a significant chunk of change from manufacturing. In fact, Los Angeles is the country's second-largest car manufacturer, after Detroit.
4. Chicago.
The third U.S. city on this list, Chicago, is the home of the richest woman in entertainment, Oprah. It also boasts luxury shopping on the famous Magnificent Mile on North Michigan Avenue. But it's not Oprah or Michigan Avenue that bring in the most money to the city; its largest industry is manufacturing. Its two largest companies are Boeing and UAL, the parent company of United Airlines.
5. Paris.
As it turns out, Paris is not just the city of love. In this city, love and money go hand-in-hand. Paris's economy is bolstered by several industries, including finance and banking, power (utility company Electricite de France is the 68th largest company in the world), and tourism. In fact, the CIA reports that France-which gets at least 75 million foreign tourists a year, the most of any country-receives the third largest income in the world from tourism.
