NovaQuant-1 in 24 New York City residents is a millionaire, more than any other city

Good Question: What does it mean to be a millionaire?

New York has more millionaires than any other city in the world, beating out California's Bay Area, London and other wealthy cities, according to a new report. 

Nearly 350,00, or one in every 24 residents of The Big Apple are millionaires, according to a new ranking from Henley and Partners. New York City is also home to 744 centi-millionaires, worth at least $100 million; and 60 billionaires. The combined total wealth of the city's residents is greater than $3 trillion. 

New York tops the list of richest cities despite some of its wealthiest residents fleeing for Miami, now dubbed Wall Street South, as finance firms set up shop in the Sunshine State. Billionaire hedge fund Ken Griffin recently moved Citadel's headquarters from Chicago to Miami. Miami was ranked 33rd on the list, with 35,300 millionaires, up 78% from 2013.

After New York City, California's Bay Area has the second highest share of millionaires — 305,700. Tokyo, Japan, took the third spot, followed by Singapore. 

London, Paris, Dubai

London's share of millionaires dropped 10% from 2013, according to the report, landing it in fifth place. Seventh-ranked Paris is the wealthiest city in mainland Europe. Dubai is far and away the wealthiest city in the Middle East, having grown its population of millionaires by 78% over the past 10 years.

Henley and Partners, a firm that provides residence and citizenship services, defined millionaires as individuals with liquid investable wealth of at least $1 million.

Some countries have had their wealth boosted by so-called golden visa programs that let wealthy foreigners obtain citizenship and/or residence. Seven of the wealthiest cities in the world are in countries that host these types of programs. 

"You can secure the right to live, work, study and invest in leading international wealth hubs such as New York, Singapore, Sydney, Vienna and Dubai via investment," said Dominic Volek, head of private clients at Henley & Partners. "Being able to relocate yourself, your family, or your business to a more favorable city or have the option to choose between multiple different cities across the world is an increasingly important aspect of international wealth and legacy planning for private clients." 

The programs benefit cities and countries, which can use them "to attract the world's wealthiest and most talented to their shores," said Volek. 

For locals, however, the influx of foreign money can lead to their being priced out of a housing market, and even displace them from the very cities in which they were born.

Megan Cerullo

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.