Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, is on track to surpass Johannesburg and emerge as Africa’s wealthiest city by 2030, according to the 2024 Africa Wealth Report.
The latest report, published by international wealth advisory firm Henley & Partners in collaboration with global wealth intelligence partner New World Wealth, estimates that the total investable wealth currently held on the African continent amounts to 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars, and its millionaire population is set to increase by 65 percent over the next 10 years.
It reveals that there are currently 135,200 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) with liquid investable wealth of one million U.S. dollars or more living in Africa, along with 342 centi-millionaires worth 100 million U.S. dollars or more, and 21 dollar billionaires.
Despite a tough past decade which saw a 20 percent decline in its millionaire population, South Africa remains home to over twice as many HNWIs as any other African country, with 37,400 millionaires, 102 centi-millionaires and five billionaires, followed by Egypt with 15,600 millionaires, 52 centi-millionaires and seven billionaires, according to the report.
Nigeria sits in third place with 8,200 HNWIs, followed by Kenya (7,200 millionaires), Morocco (6,800), Mauritius (5,100), Algeria (2,800), Ethiopia (2,700), Ghana (2,700) and Namibia (2,300), all making it into the top 10 wealthiest countries in Africa.
At the city level, Johannesburg maintains its status as the wealthiest city in Africa, boasting 12,300 millionaires, 25 centi-millionaires and two billionaires. Cape Town follows closely behind, with 7,400 millionaires, 28 centi-millionaires and one billionaire. Cairo (7,200 millionaires), Nairobi (4,400) and Lagos (4,200) also stand out as key urban wealth hubs.
However, the report points out that Cape Town is currently benefiting from the ongoing “semigration” of large numbers of HNWIs from other parts of South Africa, especially Johannesburg and Pretoria.
The city is also an increasingly popular retirement destination for migrating millionaires from Europe and the rest of Africa.
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