8500 Kenyans worth over Ksh.116 million - report

The report was produced by research firm New World Wealth and Henley & Partners and was based on data from New World Wealth as well as Henley & Partners’ wealthy individuals’ database.

Kenya is placed fourth in Africa in terms of the country’s number of dollar millionaires, behind South Africa (39,300), Egypt (16,900) and Nigeria (10,000).

The country does not, however, have any dollar billionaire, unlike Egypt (7), South Africa (5), Nigeria (4), Morocco (3), as well as Tanzania and Angola, which have one each.

“Notably, South Africa is home to over twice as many millionaires as any other African country, while Egypt has the most billionaires on the continent,” the report says.

It is also worth noting that the report’s projection of Kenya’s dollar millionaires is remarkably higher than other reports, as the latest Knight Frank Wealth Report places the number at 3,323.

At the same time, The Africa Wealth Report 2022 ranked Nairobi as the sixth richest city in the continent with a total private wealth of $48 billion.

“​​Africa’s two wealthiest cities are in South Africa. Johannesburg is the wealthiest, with total private wealth of US$239 billion, while Cape Town in second place has total private wealth of US$131 billion,” it adds, placing Cairo, Lagos, Durban and Umhlanga at the third, fourth and fifth positions respectively.

In terms of wealth held by private citizens, Kenya is fifth with $91 billion (Ksh10.5 trillion). 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,” states the report.

Kenya came in eighth in terms of the wealth of the average citizen, with wealth per capita in the country at $1,700 (Ksh.197,000).

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).

The report projects that the total private wealth held in Africa is expected to rise by 38% over the next 10 years, reaching US$3 trillion by 2031, with ​​Mauritius, Rwanda and Uganda being the strongest performing wealth markets in Africa during this period (over 60% growth rates). 

“Strong growth is also forecast in Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique and Zambia (over 50% growth rates),” it adds.