The Big Golden Apple: The World's Richest City
Vocabulary
Repeat each word, definition, and example sentence after your tutor.
symbol
Noun
ˈsɪmbəl
an object or shape that has a meaning or represents something
The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom.
buzz
Verb
bʌz
to move in a quick or busy way
I saw Mark buzzing around the office about 20 minutes ago but I think he's gone for lunch now.
wealthy
Adjective
ˈwɛlθiː
having a lot of money or valuable possessions
The south of Africa is the wealthiest part of the continent.
investment
Noun
ɪnˈvɛstmənt
the action or process of putting money into something in order to make more money; the amount of money put into something, or the thing into which money is put
Andrea owns an apartment in New York as well as several investment properties.
gap
Noun
gæp
a difference between two situations, positions, etc.
The income gap between the richest and poorest Americans is getting larger every year.
earner
Noun
ˈɜːrnər
a person who makes money of a specified kind or level
Only the country's top earners will be affected by the new tax laws.
Article
The Big Golden Apple: The World's Richest City
New York is known for its yellow taxis. They're everywhere: pushing through the busy streets like bees.
They are a symbol of the city and there are more than 13,500 of them buzzing around the "Big Apple."
That's a lot of taxis. But there are some other things buzzing around the city and they aren't always quite so easy to see — millionaires.
The city of yellow taxis is also the city of millionaires, and according to a new report there are about 26 times more millionaires in New York than there are taxis!
The 2024 World's Wealthiest Cities report, by investment company Henley and Partners, says New York has almost 350,000 millionaires.
That number grew by 48% between 2013 and 2023, and there are also 60 billionaires in the city.
But like so many wealthy cities, the gap between the rich and the poor in New York is big, and it's getting bigger.
According to 2023 data, the top 20% of earners in the city make almost six times as much as the bottom 20% of earners.
New York is also the world's second most expensive city to live in.
There are 11 US cities in the top 50 wealthiest cities in the world.
The Bay Area, which includes San Francisco and California's tech area of Silicon Valley is second in the list. More than 300,000 millionaires live there, along with 68 billionaires.
Tokyo is third with 298,000 millionaires, although the Japanese capital has seen a small decrease in the number of millionaires over the last 10 years.
Exercise 3
Questions
Answer the following questions about the article.
1.
How many yellow taxis are there in New York?
- A.
- More than 13,500
Correct
- B.
- More than 16,000
2.
How many billionaires does New York have?
- A.
- 30
- B.
- 60
Correct
3.
How many US cities are in the top 50 wealthiest cities in the world?
- A.
- 15
- B.
- 11
Correct
4.
What are your thoughts on the 2024 World's Wealthiest cities report?
5
Do you find it surprising that New York has close to 350,000 millionaires?
6.
Have you been to New York? If so, what did you think of it? If not, would you like to visit someday?
7.
Which of the cities mentioned in the article would you most like to visit?
8.
What are your country's wealthiest cities?
