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Cape Town to outshine City of Gold as Africa's top city by 2030

Staff Writer
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Africa is home to 135,200 millionaires, 342 centi-millionaires, and 21 billionaires, collectively holding a total investable wealth of $2.5 trillion.

The growth story is promising, with Africa’s millionaire population set to rise 65% in the next decade, driven by strong growth in key sectors such as fintech, eco-tourism, business process outsourcing, software development, rare metals mining, green tech, media and entertainment, and wealth management. notes Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private Clients and a member of the Executive Committee of Henley & Partners.

The report tracks private wealth and investment migration trends globally, shows that high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in Africa’s wealthiest countries—including South Africa — are expected to grow on average, by 65% over the next decade.

South Africa currently houses 37,400 HNWIs (dollar millionaires) and 102 centi-millionaires ($10 million or more), with Five-dollar billionaires. That number is expected to swell to 61,000 HNWIs by 2033, according to the report, with Cape Town predicted to become Africa’s wealthiest city by as a early as 2030.

The Mother City has 7,400 millionaires which is expected to grow by 85% over the next decade, to 13,500 in 2033, overtaking Johannesburg, according to Henley & Partners.

Volek stresses that this growth has not been without setbacks. 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, and even though the JSE All Share Index, which makes up well over half of Africa’s listed company holdings, rose in local currency terms, it was down 5% in USD terms over that period.”

African investors tend to allocate their assets equally across equities, property, and cash. With African stock markets underperforming against global peers, local property markets facing headwinds, and currencies depreciating against the dollar, African investors have seen their wealth eroded on multiple fronts.

However, Volek said the allure of Africa’s most expensive cities adds another layer to the continent’s wealth narrative.

“Cape Town, with prime residential spaces valued at $5,600 per square metre, and Grand Baie in Mauritius, close behind at $5,000 per square meter, emerge not just as international centres of luxury but also as benchmarks of investment appeal and lifestyle desirability.

“These cities, alongside others like Morocco’s Marrakech and South Africa’s Sandton, stand as tangible examples of prosperity,” he said.

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