Hong Kong was found to be the priciest city in the world for luxury products and services, according to a report by private bank Julius Baer.
It is the most expensive place to hire a lawyer, due to being a financial center, with a simple will consultation setting someone back $1,050 on average.
Hong Kong also has among the highest price tags for property, cars, a business class flight, fine dining, a wedding banquet and beauty services.
However, Hong Kong puts no duties on jewelry, meaning it can be a relatively the cheap city to buy this high-end product, though a Cartier Love bracelet will still cost $42,228. It costs even more in Brazil's capital of Rio de Janeiro, at $54,852, as taxes on jewelry can be double the levies charged in North America and Europe.
Julius Baer surveyed the prices of 18 premium goods and services across 28 cities around the world for its first Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2020, released on Thursday.
Asia came out as the most expensive region overall, home to five of the costliest cities in the world – after Hong Kong, this included Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore and Taipei.
Property is particularly costly in the region, with six of the 10 most expensive cities located in Asia. Eight of the 10 most expensive places to buy a luxury car were in Asia, which the report attributed to high import taxes.
But the cheapest city for luxury goods, Mumbai, is also in Asia. High-end men's suits, wedding banquets and personal trainers are all cheapest in the Indian city. For instance, a wedding banquet for 400 people at a top hotel in Mumbai would cost an average of $21,754.
Having a bottoming residential property market also made the city more affordable for the rich. In fact, wealthy residents are able to buy property at around a tenth of the price of the most expensive city.
It is also found to be relatively good value to stay in high-end hotels, enjoy fine dining, buy whisky and to hire a lawyer in Mumbai.
The most expensive cities globally for luxury goods
- Hong Kong
- Shanghai, China
- Tokyo, Japan
- New York, U.S.
- Singapore
- Los Angeles, U.S.
- London, U.K.
- Taipei, Taiwan
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Monaco
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Paris, France
- Miami, U.S.
- Vienna, Austria
- Sydney, Australia
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Dubai, UAE
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Milan, Italy
- Manila, Philippines
- Vancouver, Canada
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Moscow, Russia
- Barcelona, Spain
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Frankfurt, Germany
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Mumbai, India
Property and taxes
European cities offer the most reasonable value for high-end goods and services, despite the fact that the U.K. capital of London is the most expensive city in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
London is the third most expensive property market in the world, with the average price per square meter of three top-end properties in the city, coming out at $46,359. Yet it is still nearly half that of the average cost for a luxury home in Monaco, where it costs an eye-watering average of $89,240 per square meter.
Brazil's capital of Rio de Janeiro actually has the highest number of most expensive goods. It was the most expensive place to buy whisky, fine wine, luxury watches, jewelry and ladies' handbags, due to taxes of up to 300% on high-value items. So a bottle of Macallan 25-year-old Sherry Oak costs $3,153 in the Brazilian capital.