Hyderabad : Knight Frank, the leading independent global property consultancy today launched its landmark 20th edition of The Wealth Report. According to Knight Frank’s PRIME INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL INDEX (PIRI) Tracker: How much prime property does USD 1mn buy? Monaco retains its position as the world’s most expensive prime residential city in 2025, where with USD1 mn, one can purchase just 16 sq m of prime residential space, followed by Hong Kong (23 sq m) and Geneva (28 sq m).
Prime residential space purchasable in Hyderabad with USD1 mn declined by 0.99% YoY, from 503 sq m in 2024 to 498 sq m in 2025. Despite a 4.3% depreciation in the INR over the past year, residential prices in Hyderabad rose by 5.4% per sq ft. As a result, the total area purchasable for USD 1 mn declined by 1% between 2024 and 2025.
Area (in square meters) purchasable for USD 1 mn (5-year comparison) for Hyderabad
| Cities | Q4 2025 | Q4 2024 | Q4 2023 |
| Hyderabad | 498 | 503 | 523 |
Shishir Baijal, International Partner, Chairman & Managing Director, Knight Frank India, said, “The expansion of India’s wealth club mirrors its economic evolution: an entrepreneurial economy maturing into one with deeper capital pools, more sophisticated financial markets and a growing cohort of globally connected founders and investors. Digitalisation, listed equities, private capital and family-owned businesses all play a role. The result is a widening, increasingly durable base of ultra-wealth, anchored in long-term structural growth.”
Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank, said: “We are witnessing one of the most significant shifts in global wealth distribution in modern history. The US remains the dominant engine, but we are also seeing rising strength from India and a cohort of fast maturing economies that are now shaping the global landscape. Despite huge geopolitical shocks and inflationary pressures, private capital has shown extraordinary resilience. Our latest results reflect a deep structural acceleration in wealth creation worldwide.”
Hyderabad home to 6.3% of Indian ultra-HNI population
India’s ultra-high net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) story is one of rapid expansion followed by consolidation at scale. Between 2021 and 2026, India’s USD 30+ mn population surged by 63%, rising from just over 12,000 to 19,877, a reflection of extraordinary wealth creation across technology, industrials and capital markets. The country now has the sixth largest UHNWI population in the world. Hyderabad now accounts for 6.3% of India’s ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) population. This marks a rise from 5.0% in 2015 to 6.3% in 2025.
According to Knight Frank’s Wealth Sizing Model, India’s UHNWI population is forecast to rise by 27% from 19,877 in early 2026 to 25,217 by 2031, underscoring its growing role in the global wealth landscape.
Mumbai continues to dominate with its constituency of 35.4% UHNW or ultra-rich population in India. Knight Frank cited that wealth has become more dispersed as Indian regions develop rapidly in economic terms and hence few cities have expanded their contribution towards ultra-rich population.
