Wealthy Kenyans investing in art, watches, whisky - Report

Art, whiskey, watches and classic cars are some of the places where the Kenyan ultra-rich are packing their money, in the luxury investment Index.

According to the Knight Frank Wealth Report, real estate has remained attractive to investors, with billions of shillings being channelled into homes, farmland, hotels, private rented residential, and student housing.

This group of sophisticated investors are showing limited interest in relocating out of the country, or even investing elsewhere.

Kenya, the report intimates, is now competing with the Middle East and Europe as an investment destination.

Knight Frank Kenya CEO Mark Dunford said: “We are in a politically stable market; we have financial systems that work, judicial systems that function, infrastructure that’s improving and a growing market place in terms of middle-class Kenyans who can afford to spend money. So, we have access to the continent from here, it’s a great place to come and invest.”

A majority of the rich are embracing sustainable investments by including green priorities in their investment portfolios.

In fact, this class of investors is now seeking certifications and energy ratings for their real estate investments, as a way to increase their return on investment.

“A lot of international global firms will not occupy buildings that are not certified to a certain threshold of green certification,” said Mr. Dunford.

Despite an increase in the cost of living, 62 per cent of the very rich are confident that their wealth will continue to grow.

“We are hopeful that those interest rates are going to start coming down once the Fed lowers their interest rates in the next 6 months. There’s always a lag and then knock-on to us,” added Mr. Dunford.

“But ultimately it means that borrowing is going to slow down a bit, and we are going to see people investing in the type of money market investments that see returns from those interest rates.”

Globally the number of high-net-worth individuals increased by 4.2 per cent, with many coming from the United States and Turkey.

By 2028, it is expected that nearly 180,000 people will join this bracket, with Asia, India and the US at the centre of it.