Tokyo has the largest metropolitan economy in the world. According to a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Tokyo urban area (35.2 million people) has a total GDP of US$2.91 trillion. 51 of the companies listed on the Global 500 are based in Tokyo, almost twice that of the second-placed city (Paris). Tokyo is a major international finance center, houses the headquarters of several of the world’s largest investment banks and insurance companies, and serves as a hub for Japan’s transportation, publishing, and broadcasting industries. Tokyo was rated by the Economist Intelligence Unit as the most expensive (highest cost-of-living) city in the world for 14 years in a row. This analysis is for living a corporate executive lifestyle, with items like a detached house and several automobiles. Tokyo has been described as one of the three “command centers” for the world economy, along with New York City and London. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is Japan’s largest stock exchange, and third largest in the world by market capitalization and fourth largest by share turnover. At the end of the Japanese asset price bubble, it accounted for more than 60% of the world stock market value.