Singapore Holds Top Spot as World's Most Expensive City for Luxury Lifestyle
The Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2026 by Julius Baer has ranked Singapore as the world's most expensive city for maintaining a premium lifestyle, followed closely by Zurich and Monaco. The report attributes Singapore's long-held leadership to high housing and automobile prices, as well as the strength of the Singapore dollar.
The rise in Zurich's ranking is due to the strengthening of the Swiss franc, backed by the country's reputation for stability and its role as a 'store of value' in times of uncertainty. The report notes that currencies are once again taking center stage, but it's not just about the currency itself - how it interacts with assets and investor decisions is crucial.
Christian Gattiker, Head of Research at Julius Baer, emphasizes that stable cities and countries become even more attractive in a world filled with uncertainty. The report's Lifestyle Index ranks 25 cities based on price inflation for luxury items such as housing, automobiles, business class flights, school tuition, and tasting dinners.