Hong Kong has overtaken New York City to become the city home to more superrich people than any other metropolis on the planet, according to a study published on September 6 by the Wealth X research firm.

The study tallies the number of individuals worth $30 million or more, labeling them ultra-high net worth individuals. In recent years, the number of these individuals living in Hong Kong has risen to about 10,000.

New York City had held the number one spot on the list since 2011, when Wealth X first began its ranking system. But China’s rapid economic growth has increased the number of ultra-rich individuals in the region and propelled Hong Kong past New York City, London, Paris, Tokyo and every other city.

On July 1, 1997, the United Kingdom handed over Hong Kong, nicknamed the “Pearl of the Orient,” to China. With that historic handover, Chinese power greatly multiplied and, as late Trumpet columnist Ron Fraser wrote, the “final act” was performed in the “closure of an empire—a God-given empire” (Philadelphia Trumpet, June 1997).

In acquiring Hong Kong, China not only gained control over a center of global finance but also inherited one of the world’s most valuable natural harbors, fitted with a $380 million naval facility that the British constructed. Hong Kong’s location at the juncture of the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea gives this territory immense strategic value.

China’s grip on Hong Kong bolsters its ability to control the South China Sea. In the July 2016 Trumpet issue, editor in chief Gerald Flurry addressed this connection, writing, “Britain actually gave the South China Sea prize of Hong Kong to … China in 1997. Now that U.S. military presence in the area has been …. reduced, China is claiming the entire South China Sea as its own!”

In terms of Bible prophecy, the transfer of Hong Kong to China was deeply significant. Hong Kong is considered a “sea-gate” because it allows access to and control over parts of the South China Sea. It was one of many such strategic locations that Britain controlled during its empire era, and this control did not happen by accident. Genesis 22 records that God made foundational promises to the patriarch Abraham. Verse 17 records that his descendants, especially the peoples who became Britain and America, would come to “possess the gate of his enemies.” The context and related passages show that this is referring to sea-gates, such as Hong Kong, which contributed to Great Britain’s maritime dominance for many decades.

Deuteronomy 28:52 prophesied that the British and American peoples would later lose control of those sea-gates, and see them handed over to their enemies. This has occurred with the Suez Canal, the Bab el-Mandeb strait, Sri Lanka, Singapore, the Panama Canal, Cyprus, Malta and South Africa. Britain or the U.S. once controlled these sea-gates. Now they have all been surrendered. Hong Kong’s transfer to China was a part of the fulfillment of that prophecy.

The new Wealth X ranking is only the latest reminder of the immense value of Hong Kong and of the massive loss that its handover represented for Great Britain. To understand the significance of Britain and America losing the sea-gates they once possessed and how this trend fulfills Bible prophecy, read “Changing of the Guard” in our free booklet He Was Right.