Julius BarGLOBALWEALTHANDREPORT20242FOREWORDand Lifestyle Report.This is a report designed to capturethe cost of living extremely well'on a global scale.After every new edition,I immediately look for what haschanged and-sometimes even more insightful-whathas not.Thanks to your valuable feedback,I know thatmany ofour readers do the same.So let us jump straight to the matter at hand:What has changed?Of course,prices have changed forthe basket of high-end goods and services-this year tothe tune of 4 per cent on average in USD and on achanged more dramatically.Take the cost of a hotel suite,Christian Gattiker-Ericsson CFA CAlAfor example,where prices in Asia Pacific dropped byalmost 11 per cent while they rose by almost 34 per centin the Americas (driven by NYC).The rankings of the3major cities have changed as well Zurich,my hometown,thorough readers,we highlight our changes in methodol-moved up a full eight positions in the rankings and otherogy of course.European cities such as Milan (+6)and Paris (+5)alsoWhat do we make of the results?As usual,this is in thefollowed suit,pushing EMEA to the top of the regionaleye of the beholder For globetrotters,this index mightrankings.The flipside is that the Americas becomes thehelp them to choose their travel destination;those lookingleast expensive region and APAC drops to second place,for a luxury bargain might consider Tokyo,while thosewith Tokyo now bottom of the APAC ranking having losttrading up might consider New York.Other readersmighta stunning 15 positions since 2022.What has not changed?The level of price increasesup to other major cities around the world.But for me ascontinued to dedine on a global scale.Hardcore an economist,this report shows that currencies matter aeconomists would say that "inflation has been slowing'lot Take Tokyo as an example.This used to be the poster-because the 4 per cent price increase is still far slower childof an ultra-expensive city in the 1990s.However,thethan the 6 per cent last year not to mention the steady decline of the yen has shown how this canchange.high-single-digit increases we witnessed before the As trivial as it seems,we tend to forget that the costs ofpandemic.Another thing that didn't change much is the living look very different in the eyes of a stranger-espe-cities at the top and at the bottom of our index.cially if that person thinks in US dollars or Swiss francsSingapore and Hong Kong remain among the top threeinstead ofthe local currency.Currencyand context matter.cities,despite some Europeans catching up and Londonmaking the podium.At the other end,Johannesburg andVancouver remain in their ranks as well.For the mostCONTENTS0The Julius Baer Lifestyle Index:03Regional Overviews:9Europe,Middle East,and Africa30Key findings10Asia PacificGlobal item price changes14The Americas42Evolution of top ten city rankings1604Appendix18Methodology02The Julius Baer Lifestyle Survey:Global rankings by item49Key finding乎19Asia Pacific51Lifestyle spending habits26Europe,Middle East,and Africa56Travel and transport habits27The Americas60Lifestyle attitudes,and28sustainable behaviour0564-65Personalfinancial situation295EXECUTIVE SUMMARYAlthough cities continue to get more expensive in 2024,affluent individuals around theworld are still willing to spend on and invest in their lifestyles,families,and futures.Once again,Julius Baer's Global Wealth and Lifestyle and sentiments of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).Report is being published against a complex global back-Together,they provide insight into the lifestyles,habitsground.Although the impact of the global pandemic has and priorities of wealthy consumers around the globe.now settled into a 'new normal,inflation,rising living costs,Flying highand increased geopolitical tensions continue to impactThe 2024 index findings are less dlear-cut than last year.prices and priorities in every region covered in our report.While Singapore and Hong Kong still dominate theThe Julius Baer Lifestyle Index analyses the cost of a podium,we see the Asia Pacific (APAC)region dropbasket of goods and services representative of'living well'down the overall regional rankings to second place as ain 25cities around the world.This provides anoverview of result of lower rankings for cities like Tokyo,now in 23rdthe relative cost of maintaining a high-net-worth lifestyle place,combined with a buoyant return to prominencein various major urban centres.The addition of the Life-for Europe,Africa,and the Middle East (EMEA).Londonstyle Survey,now in its third year,supports the index now takes the final spot on the podium and every singlefindings with qualitative analysis of the personal habits European city has moved up the rankings this year