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# Global Capital Is Still Flowing Into California — Nearly $13 Billion Worth
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/global-capital-flowing-california/
- Published: 2026-05-21T19:56:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-04T20:07:52.000Z
- Author: Ross Furukawa

When international investors scan the global map for where to put their money, California keeps landing near the top of the list.

A new report from [Becker & Poliakoff](https://beckerlawyers.com/the-state-of-foreign-direct-investment-across-america/?ref=smdp.com), the national law firm, finds California ranked No. 3 in the United States for new foreign direct investment in 2024, pulling in $12.9 billion from abroad. The analysis draws on the most recent full-year federal data available and places California behind only Texas ($22.8 billion) and Georgia ($16.3 billion) among all 50 states.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/06/Top-10-States-receiving-New-Foreign.webp)

Business district in California attracting global capital and international investors

The drivers are familiar ones for anyone who tracks the state's economy. Silicon Valley's technology and chip-design infrastructure, a life sciences industry with global reach, and major Pacific ports connecting California to capital markets in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan all factor into the state's draw. The practical result: foreign-owned businesses operating here support 885,600 California jobs — a figure no other state matches.

That workforce number matters because it illustrates what foreign investment actually produces on the ground. It is not simply a financial metric. It represents payrolls, facilities, supply chains, and economic activity woven into local communities across the state.

Nationally, the United States is not just competitive — it is dominant. America attracted $279 billion in foreign direct investment, more than doubling China's $116 billion. The [Becker & Poliakoff ](https://beckerlawyers.com/?ref=smdp.com)report frames that gap in strategic terms: FDI leadership reinforces the dollar's global reserve currency status, gives the federal government greater leverage in imposing economic sanctions, and supports 15 million jobs held by Americans working for foreign-owned companies.

The global top 10 reflects how concentrated FDI flows have become among a handful of financial centers and major economies. Singapore ranked second at $143 billion, Hong Kong third at $126 billion, followed by China, Luxembourg, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.

For California, the third-place national ranking is a data point worth noting in a period when debates about the state's business climate are rarely quiet. Whatever policy friction exists at the margins, the numbers from international investors tell a different story — one in which California remains a first-tier destination for global capital with few real rivals.