Kenya has been ranked the 4th richest country in Africa. The report positioned South Africa as the wealthiest followed by Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and Morocco.
The five top countries accounted for 90 percent of Africa’s billionaires.
The report was published by Henley & Partners and the New World Wealth on Wednesday, March 29, by Japhet Ruto in Africa Wealth Report.
Nairobi was ranked the fifth wealthiest city in Africa with 619,930 millionaires. Kenya’s dollar millionaires have a net worth of at least Ksh. 130.8 million.
It recorded a drop from 8,500 individuals in 2021 to 7,700 individuals in 2022, this was caused by the weakening shilling which currently exchanges at 130.81 units to the dollar. “On one side, the Kenya shilling is weakening because the US dollar is strong, and this applies to other major currencies against the US dollar.
The US Fed raised interest rates by 425 basis points in 2022 effectively shifting rates from a limit of 0.25% to a limit of 4.5%. This tightening policy has strengthened the dollar and made US bonds attractive to international buyers,” FX Pesa EGM Securities lead market analyst, Rufas Kamau explained.
The report announced that the continent had a total investible wealth of $2.4 trillion(Ksh. 315.8 trillion), 138,000 millionaires, 328 centi-millionaires and 23 billionaires.
Millionaires are people worth $1 million (Ksh. 131.4 million) or more, centi-millionaires are worth $100 million (Ksh. 13.1 billion) or more, whereas billionaires are worth $1 billion (Ksh. 131.4 billion) or more.
The identified wealthiest markets in Africa -South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco account for 56 percent of Africa’s high-net-worth individuals and over 90 percent of the continent’s billionaires,” the report announced.
Two Rolexes that carried a sentimental value for actor Paul Newman are to be auctioned as part of a broad collection of the late icon’s personal effects, each is expected to earn up to $1 million (Ksh. 131.4 million).
Subscribe to our Youtube channel Switch TV
According to a report released by Knight Frank on Wednesday, March 1, rich Kenyans do not plan on investing abroad, High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) in Kenya have gained confidence in the country’s investment in opposition to foreign investment. “Kenyans are confident in living, working and investing in Kenya as opposed to moving abroad,” Knight Frank research analyst Boniface Abudho said.
There has been an increase in investments in rented residential and retail properties in the same year under review, as opposed to industrial property and development land.
Kenyan dollar millionaires are gradually increasing with the latest figures standing at 7,700 individuals. Wealthy individuals have increased by 30 percent in 2023.
The report revealed the continent had a total investible wealth of $2.4 trillion (Ksh 315.8 trillion), 138,000 millionaires, 328 centi-millionaires and 23 billionaires.
