In recent years, Africa has seen a rise in its number of billionaires, but at the same time, many millionaires have left the continent. Over the past decade, almost 20,000 ultra-rich individuals have moved away or seen dramatic currency depreciations eat away their wealth.
The 2024 Africa Wealth Report reveals that there are currently 135,200 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) with liquid investable wealth of USD 1 million or more living in Africa, along with 342 centi-millionaires worth USD 100 million or more, and 21 dollar billionaires.
Africa’s ‘Big 5’ wealth markets — South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco — together account for 56% of the continent’s millionaires and over 90% of its billionaires.
Head of Research at New World Wealth, Andrew Amoils, noted that African countries are also losing large numbers of HNWIs to migration which is eroding the continent’s wealth. “According to our latest figures, approximately 18,700 high-net-worth individuals have left Africa over the past decade (2013 to 2023),” he stated.
There are currently 54 African-born billionaires in the world, including one of the world’s richest, Elon Musk, but only 21 of them still live on the continent. This marks a decline from the 23 who resided in Africa last year.
The majority of these individuals have relocated to the UK, the USA, Australia, and the UAE. Some others have moved to France, Switzerland, Monaco, Portugal, Canada, New Zealand, and Israel.
Why the ultra-rich are moving abroad
According to Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners, currency depreciation and underperforming stock markets have chipped away at Africa’s wealth compared to global benchmarks.
The South African rand fell 43% against the US dollar from 2013–2023. Currencies in most other African countries also performed poorly compared to the dollar over the past 10 years, with dramatic depreciations of over 75% recorded in Nigeria, Egypt, Angola, and Zambia.
Beyond this, several other reasons are contributing to the departure of African billionaires from the continent, including regulatory challenges, lack of adequate infrastructure, security concerns, and taxation policies.
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