Staffs of Asiamarine prepare for a dinner party on the Hip Nautist yacht in Hong Kong, Jan 30, 2019. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

Wealthy bargain hunters should be wary of getting married in New York, hiring lawyers in Hong Kong or buying fine wines in Rio de Janeiro.

That’s according to research from Julius Baer Group Ltd, which broke out the world’s most expensive cities for a variety of luxury goods and services -- from houses to personal trainers to whisky. High local tax rates make Rio de Janeiro - Brazil’s second-largest city - the world’s most expensive metropolis in five of 18 categories in the Swiss bank’s “Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2020.”

Still, Hong Kong is the world’s priciest city overall, with the city cited frequently in the top 10 most expensive municipalities for categories such as fine dining and luxury cars.

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A general view of a dining room is seen at a newly-built house in neo-classical design developed by the National Electronics Holdings Ltd in Hong Kong, Feb 20, 2019. (ANTHONY KWAN / BLOOMBERG)

The report released Thursday underscores the growing scope of opulence among the world’s wealthy as tensions mount in some nations over the divide between the rich and everyone else. 

ALSO READ: HK jumps into top 10 most expensive locations for expats

The idea of luxury “once stood for fancy goods, such as handbags or sports cars,” Nicolas de Skowronski, head of wealth management solutions at Julius Baer, said in the report. “Now it has morphed into a broad category that includes services and experiences, from fine dining to new lifestyle trends such as wellness.”

While Hong Kong may drop in future rankings after months of protests stemming from the extradition bill incident take their toll on the economy, other Asian cities are well represented in the firm’s ranking of most expensive, including Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore, Taipei and Bangkok all in the top half.