A stack of 100 dollar notes/istock
NAIROBI, Kenya Apri 27- A new report by research firm New World Wealth and Henley & Partners which helps high-net-worth individuals to acquire residence or citizenship through investment has ranked Kenya fourth in regard to the country’s number of dollar millionaires.
The Africa Wealth Report 2022 indicates that Kenya has 8,500 individuals with a net worth of over $1 million (Sh115.7 million).
According to the first wealth report by Henley, South Africa has the highest number of dollar millionaires at 39,300 followed by Egypt (16,900) and Nigeria (10,000).
The number of dollar millionaires according to the report is significantly higher than estimates indicated in other wealth reports. This is a clear indication of how difficult it is to track wealth in Africa.
This is evident in the latest Knight Frank Wealth Report which put the number of Kenya dollar millionaires at 3,323. This is 156 percent lower than than the estimates presented by Henley.
The report drew from intelligence gathered by New World Wealth as well as Henley & Partners’ database of high-net-worth individuals, comprising mainly of people with the title of director, CEO, founder and partner.
The study also reveals that Kenya came in fourth place in terms of the number of Kenyans with a net worth of $10 million (Sh1.1 billion) and above.
Kenya has 340 such individuals, after Nigeria with 510, Egypt (880) and South Africa (2,080).
Kenya ranked fifth in terms of the population of individuals with a net worth of at least $100 million (Sh11.5 billion), also known as centi-millionaires. The country had 15 such individuals, trailing Morocco (22), Nigeria (28), Egypt (57) and South Africa (94).
The report could not identify a Kenya-based dollar billionaire. The few billion-dollar fortunes in the country are spread out among several family members, making it difficult to single out stand-alone ultra-rich individuals.
Egypt leads with seven dollar billionaires, followed by South Africa (five), Nigeria (four) and Morocco (three).
In terms of wealth held by private citizens, Kenya has $91 billion (Sh10.5 trillion) and is ranked fifth.
South African citizens have the greatest combined wealth at $651 billion, followed by Egypt ($307 billion) and Nigeria ($228 billion).
“Total wealth refers to the private wealth held by all the individuals living in a country, including all their assets (property, cash, equities and business interests) less any liabilities. We exclude government funds from our figures,” the report says.
When measuring the wealth of the average citizen, the report ranked Kenya at the eighth position as wealth per capita in the country stands at $1,700 (Sh197,000).
Mauritius is the richest in Africa with a wealth per capita of $34,500, followed by South Africa ($10,970), Namibia ($9,320), Botswana ($7,880), Morocco ($3,380), Egypt ($3,000) and Ghana ($1,890).
Economic vibrancy and population size are the key determinants of average wealth.
A highly populated country with a weak economy will have a low wealth per capita while a small rich nation has a high average wealth.
This, for instance, saw Kenya beat Nigeria whose wealth per capita stood at $1,100 (Sh127,500).
Despite being the largest economy on the continent, Nigeria was also bested by South Africa in the population of dollar millionaires and billionaires.
Kenya’s capital Nairobi was ranked the sixth richest in Africa with a total private wealth of $48 billion (Sh5.5 trillion).
The introduction of devolution in 2013 is expected to reduce the wealth concentration in the capital.
Mombasa is second in the country and at number 23 in Africa with $7 billion (Sh811 billion) of private wealth.
Africa’s two wealthiest cities are in South Africa. Johannesburg is the wealthiest, with total private wealth of $239 billion, followed by Cape Town with a total private wealth of $131 billion.
The report says the population of wealthy individuals in Kenya and other African countries is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, fuelling the hunt for cross-border investments, residency, and citizenship.
“New World Wealth has predicted a healthy wealth growth of 38 percent for Africa in the next decade, and several Eastern African countries stand out — with over 60 percent growth expected in Uganda and Rwanda by 2031, and over 50 percent in Kenya and Zambia,” the report stated.
