It has been noted that a substantial amount of South Africans are coming back home from the UK – Photo: Unsplash
It has been noted that a substantial amount of South Africans are coming back home from the UK – Photo: Unsplash
The African Wealth Report for 2022 doesn’t just give us a glimpse into the lifestyles of the rich and the famous – it also explores the latest available emigration data. And, in a rare act of bucking the trend, it now appears that a certain set of South Africans are flooding BACK IN to the country.
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Where are wealthy South Africans returning from?
That’s because a pattern has been spotted amongst expats in the UK. According to the report, ‘a number of our wealthy citizens’ based in the UK have decided to do a 180, and come back home to Mzansi.
Although the figures haven’t yet been comprehensively established, it’s believed that this is the first emigration data in a long time which shows how High Net Worth Individuals – or HNWIs – can have the luxury of changing their minds.
“On a positive note, there is a trend of wealthy people returning to South Africa, in particular from the UK. This is a notable emigration trend that we are tracking and we should have more statistics available for this in the next report.”
African Wealth Report 2022
New emigration data: Millionaires still leaving South Africa
Despite this small positive for SA, the overall picture is still rather concerning. South Africa has 8 000 fewer ‘dollar-millionaires’ than it did 10 years ago. In total, 39 300 HNWIs remain within our borders. That’s also 10% less than the total reported just five years ago. The report also revealed the following information:
- THOUSANDS of HNWIs have left South Africa over the past decade, from 2011 to 2021.
- Most of these individuals have gone to the UK, Australia, and the USA.
- Other popular destinations include Portugal, Switzerland, Mauritius, New Zealand, the UAE, Canada, and Malta.
- There are 15 South African born billionaires in the world – but only five still live in South Africa.
- All BRICS countries have lost large numbers of HNWIs to emigration since 2011 – as have Egypt, Turkey, and Nigeria.
