Namibia is home to over 1 700 millionaires with a wealth of more than US$1 million, 60 individuals with a wealth of more than US$10 million and three with a wealth of more than US$100 million, a new report by Henley & Partners and New World Wealth shows.
The country, which is ranked 13th in Africa in terms of wealth, is however not home to any US dollar billionaires.
Windhoek, according to the report, is home to 1000 individuals with a wealth of more than US$1 million, 40 with a wealth of more than US$10 million and 2 with a wealth of more than US$100 million.
This resulted in the Capital City’s residents contributing a total wealth of US$11 billion of the country’s US$24 billion wealth.
On a wealth per capita basis, Namibia is one of the richest countries in the region at US$9320.
According to the report, 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.
The new study, which tracks private wealth and investment migration trends worldwide, concluded that Mauritius is the wealthiest country in the region, followed by South Africa and Namibia.
Total private wealth held in Africa is expected to rise by 38% over the next 10 years, reaching US$3 trillion by 2031.
The group’s data shows South Africa is currently home 39,300 high net worth individuals (HNWIs) and 2,080 multi-millionaires – those with net wealth of $10 million or more, and 5-dollar billionaires.
According to the NWW projections, South Africa could have over 55,000 HNWIs by 2032.
“As our latest report predicts, the number of HNWIs in the top 15 leading economies in Africa are forecast to grow anywhere between 40% and 80% over the next decade compared to just 20% in the US and 10% in France, Germany, Italy, and the UK,” Amanda Smit, managing partner at Henley & Partners South Africa.
Mauritius has the highest forecast HNWI growth on the continent for the next decade, at 80%. Other highlights are Uganda, with HNWI growth of 60% predicted, and Kenya and Morocco, which are each expected to see HNWI growth of 50% by 2031. South Africa’s growth is predicted to be 40%, and Nigeria’s 30%.
