Cape Town - They are Africa’s big spenders, the economic elite sitting on six figures. And now a new study has revealed that South Africa is the number one destination for the continent’s millionaires.
According to Andrew Amoils, a senior analyst at New World Wealth, more than 35 000 millionaires live in South Africa.
Amoils defined millionaires as individuals who own over R9.5 million ($1m) in assets, excluding their primary residence. Assets include anything from yachts and cars to properties.
The analyst said he used databases that included stats supplied by the World Bank, to determine the number of millionaires in Africa’s cities.
Johannesburg was the clear winner, accounting for most of South Africa’s economic heavyweights at 23 400.
The city was ranked leagues ahead of second-place Cairo, which could only count 12 300 of the wealthy elite as permanent residents.
Meanwhile, Cape Town ranked fourth, with a total of 9 000 millionaires calling the Mother City home.
Some of South Africa’s big hitters include four of Africa’s 16 billionaires, such as former Stellenbosch student and Shoprite’s executive director Christo Wiese, worth an estimated $2.65 billion and South African mining magnate Patrice Motsepe, worth an estimated $2.7bn.
Amoils said Johannesburg’s status as Africa’s millionaire capital was to be expected.
“It is the second-largest economy of any city in Africa. Cairo ranks above it, but it has a number of social economic problems that Joburg does not face.”
He added that most millionaires lived in Sandton, which accounted for roughly 65 percent of the city’s big spenders. “It is the financial centre of South Africa and indeed Africa.”
Amoils said in Johannesburg most millionaires were involved in banking, construction, mining, manufacturing, technology and healthcare. However, in Cape Town millionaires were mainly in real estate, transport, fund management and tourism. “Our research shows that Cape Town millionaires have made the bulk of their wealth by buying and selling property.”
Cape Chamber of Commerce chairman Fred Jacobs said Cape Town’s booming population of millionaires boiled down to a variety of factors.
“There’s the obvious. The weather, the scenery, the beaches – Cape Town is a nice place to live.”
He added that the quickly modernising infrastructure of roads and public transport also made Cape Town an attractive option.
But it was not just the sights bringing in the big bucks. “Our businesses attract investment... And people see returns on their investment.”
While the economic standing of Africa’s cities is expected to shift by 2020, Amoils predicted Joburg would retain its position.
He calculated that there would be just more than 30 000 millionaires living in the city at that stage, while Cape Town’s number would only increase to 11 700.
Cape Argus