Kenya’s super-rich increase to 8,500

Kenya is now among the top five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with a high number of dollar millionaires, a new report by New World Wealth, a South African market research firm, shows.

Kenya now has 8,500 millionaires, the largest number in the East African region. Uganda has 1,300 and Tanzania 2,200, the Nation reports. South Africa has the highest number of millionaires on the continent at 46,800 in 2014, followed by Egypt (20,000), then Nigeria (15,400).

Of the Kenyan millionaires, 19% are in the real estate and construction, 18% in the financial services sector and 10% in the manufacturing sector. The report says there were about 161,000 millionaires living in Africa at the end of 2014, with a combined wealth of $660 billion (Ksh66 trillion).

Their wealth increased by 145% from 2000 to 2014 compared to a worldwide growth rate of 73% during the same period. The report says the number of millionaires in Africa is expected to rise by 45% to 234,000, over the next 10 years.

The rankings show that people in the Democratic Republic of Congo are the poorest, at $230 (Ksh23,000) an individual. “Over the last year, there has been very strong growth in places such as Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania,” said Mr Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth.

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