Cities get rich by doing the same handful of things right: attracting and keeping talented people, eliminating crime and corruption, building infrastructure, embracing technology, diversifying, investing in quality of life, creating a global brand and staying resilient. Every city wants to be rich, but few get there and even fewer stay there. Building a prosperous society is tough, yet the wealthiest cities in history have gotten the same principles right.
This article walks through the nine principles, the mistakes cities avoid, and the examples the video uses to show what the best cities do differently.
Watch the full video here, or skip to the breakdown below.
The 9 principles at a glance
- Principle 1: Attract talented people (0:33)
- Principle 2: Retain talented people (2:14)
- Principle 3: Eliminate crime and corruption (3:47)
- Principle 4: Build infrastructure (6:36)
- Principle 5: Embrace technology (7:59)
- Principle 6: Diversify the economy (9:19)
- Principle 7: Invest in quality of life (10:48)
- Principle 8: Create a global brand (12:00)
- Principle 9: Resilience (13:34)
Principle 1: Attract talented people
Without talented people a city has no future. Detroit is the warning: in Henry Ford’s time engineers, designers and factory workers flooded in for the auto boom, but when the industry collapsed the city failed to reinvent itself and new talent dried up.
Silicon Valley shows the other side. Before Apple, Google and Nvidia it was farmland dotted with orchards. The shift began in the 1930s when Stanford encouraged its professors and graduates to start companies instead of leaving for the East Coast. Hewlett-Packard was an early success and drew more engineers, investors and ambition. By the 1970s the Valley was a magnet for the brightest minds in technology, and once the people were there, capital, innovation and global influence followed.
A city’s most valuable resource is ambitious, educated, hungry people, and great universities are one of the best ways to draw them. Stanford does it for the Valley, and Harvard and MIT attract billions in research funding and produce founders in Boston.
Principle 2: Retain talented people
Attracting talent is only half the battle. San Francisco is still packed with opportunity, but sky-high rents, rising crime and homelessness and a shrinking quality of life have sent thousands of talented people away. Even a city at the heart of global innovation bleeds its most valuable resource when life becomes unbearable.
Many of them have moved to Austin, Texas. For years it was another mid-sized American city, then Tesla set up a massive factory, big tech firms opened offices and thousands of skilled workers relocated. They tend to be happy there because it feels affordable, has a strong culture and offers a lifestyle worth sticking around for.
Retention comes from making a city livable, safe and inspiring, and when talented people stay, wealth compounds.
Principle 3: Eliminate crime and corruption
Caracas sits in a country with some of the most abundant oil reserves on the planet, yet violence, extortion and sketchy elections are part of daily life. Instead of becoming one of the wealthiest cities in the Americas, it has seen crime, corruption and political instability drive people and businesses away.
Singapore broke away from Malaysia in the 1960s as a tiny swampy island with no natural resources, a poor population and plenty of crime and corruption. The new government cracked down with ruthless efficiency, paid civil servants competitive wages so bribes were less tempting and enforced rules in a way businesses could trust. Companies knew contracts would be honored, investments protected and disputes settled fairly, which made Singapore one of the safest, most business-friendly hubs in the world, with an outsized amount of talent and capital for its size.
A city that controls crime and corruption sends the message that there are rules, and money loves rules. Entrepreneurs will not risk their savings where gangs run neighborhoods, investors will not back projects where contracts are meaningless, and talented people will not stay if their families feel unsafe.
Principle 4: Build infrastructure
This one is non-negotiable. Lagos, Nigeria, should on paper be one of Africa’s wealthiest cities, but traffic jams last for hours, power outages are constant and ports are so inefficient that businesses lose money just moving goods in and out.
Shenzhen was a fishing town forty years ago. In 1980 it became China’s first Special Economic Zone and began massively upgrading its highways, ports and industrial parks. By the 1990s it had gone from cheap toys and textiles to one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturing hubs. Today it is a megacity of more than 17 million people, home to Huawei and Tencent, with a skyline that rivals New York’s.
From above, roads, ports, power grids and now digital networks are what connect everything. Get it right and a small fishing town can become a rich, dynamic metropolis in a single generation.
Principle 5: Embrace technology
Cities that skip technology get left behind. When the world went digital, many large European cities, from Milan to Madrid to Vienna, did not adapt. They remain great places to live, but they lag Silicon Valley and Shenzhen, which is why many talented young Europeans move to those places.
Seoul shows the opposite. In the 1960s South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world, and its government made a bold bet that technology would be the path to prosperity. That focus powered Samsung, Hyundai and LG into global giants. Seoul long had the fastest internet in the world and is among the richest, most tech-forward cities on Earth, already working on 6G.
Technology is the largest, fastest-growing industry in the world, so the cities that embrace it shape global culture. In this century, it is not optional.
Innovation is the ultimate force multiplier for a city.
Principle 6: Diversify the economy
Putting all your eggs in one basket is dangerous, because when that industry shifts, the whole city goes down with it. For centuries Venice was among the wealthiest cities of its time, but its economy rested on controlling trade routes between Europe and Asia. When routes opened across the Atlantic, it failed to reinvent itself and slowly became little more than a tourist attraction.
New York began as an industrial heavyweight and America’s gateway for shipping and trade, much like Venice. When those industries slowed, it reinvented itself as the financial capital of the world, then built on that with media, fashion and now tech. Dubai lived on oil for decades, but its leaders knew it would not last, so they pivoted hard into tourism, aviation and finance. Less than 1% of its GDP now comes from oil.
A rich city is a flexible city. If all your prosperity depends on one industry you are fragile, and if you diversify well you can adapt.
Principle 7: Invest in quality of life
This principle matters once a city is already thriving, and skipping it means the success will not last. São Paulo is one of the biggest cities in Latin America and produces enormous wealth, but inequality is extreme, crime is rampant and infrastructure is underdeveloped, so for most residents daily life feels like survival. That drives away the very people the economy needs.
Copenhagen built bike-friendly streets, plenty of green space and reliable public transport, and is consistently ranked among the happiest cities anywhere. Zurich is clean and safe, with top-tier healthcare and education, and that unmatched quality of life makes it a magnet for talent and money.
Quality of life is the glue that holds everything together: a place where actual humans want to hang out.
Principle 8: Create a global brand
At this stage it is not only about money. Plenty of cities get rich for a while, but few build a global brand. Johannesburg is the richest city in Africa, yet the video asks how many people know more than one or two things about it. It is not seen as a cultural beacon.
Paris is the contrast. It has spent centuries cultivating an image as the capital of art, fashion, romance, cuisine and luxury (and, the video adds, it makes a mean croissant). It is a place people dream of visiting, living in or being associated with, and the idea of Paris generates billions of dollars a year.
A brand multiplies a city’s wealth by turning it into something people aspire to be part of. People pay a premium to live in Paris, Dubai or New York because they are buying into an identity as well as square meters. Cities without a brand may still get rich, but they will not be remembered, and being memorable is one of the most valuable assets a city can have.
Principle 9: Resilience
Getting rich is one thing. Staying rich for centuries is something only a handful of cities have achieved, because applying all these principles consistently across millennia is hard.
Athens has five thousand years of history and was the birthplace of democracy, philosophy and architecture that still inspires the world. In its golden age it was the wealthiest and most powerful city on Earth, but over time it failed to uphold many of the principles. It now struggles with economic instability, poor infrastructure and high unemployment, and its pride comes mainly from its past.
London is nearly 2,000 years old and has survived plagues, fires, world wars, the loss of Britain’s imperial role and countless financial crises, and it is still among the wealthiest cities because it kept adapting. When it stopped being the center of imperial trade, it doubled down on global finance. When industries changed, it leaned into culture, education and innovation, built top universities, attracted global talent, invested in infrastructure and cultivated a cultural brand recognized everywhere.
Athens is remembered for what it once was. London is admired for what it still is.
Why resilience ties it together
The wealthiest cities rest on systems that outlast any single leader, reinvent themselves when the world changes, and cultivate institutions that keep talent and capital flowing even in hard times. They build resilience by stacking the other eight principles over and over, and wealth with resilience can last millennia.
The video adds that the same principles apply to you: attracting opportunities, investing in yourself, diversifying your skills and building resilience are how you grow richer over time.
FAQ
How do cities get rich?
The video lists nine principles: attract talented people, retain them, eliminate crime and corruption, build infrastructure, embrace technology, diversify the economy, invest in quality of life, create a global brand, and build resilience.
Why did Singapore become so rich?
After breaking away from Malaysia in the 1960s, Singapore cracked down on crime and corruption, paid civil servants competitive wages and enforced rules businesses could trust, making it one of the safest and most business-friendly hubs in the world.
What is the most valuable resource a city can have?
Its people, specifically ambitious, educated, hungry-for-success people. Great universities such as Stanford, Harvard and MIT are one of the best ways to attract them.
Why is it important for a city to diversify its economy?
If all of a city’s prosperity depends on one industry it is fragile. Venice faded when trade routes shifted, while New York and Dubai reinvented themselves; less than 1% of Dubai’s GDP now comes from oil.
Why did Athens decline while London stayed rich?
Athens failed to uphold many of the principles over time and now struggles with instability and unemployment. London kept adapting, shifting to global finance, culture, education and innovation as the world changed.
How does a global brand make a city richer?
A brand turns a city into something people aspire to be part of, so they pay a premium to live there. The idea of Paris, for example, generates billions of dollars every year.
Keep reading
- Complete list of ways to get Rich (62 Examples)
- 15 Steps to GET RICH (Ultimate Guide)
- 15 Secrets RICH People Use to Get Everything in Life
