South African millionaires: CT is catching up to Joburg in the race

Most South African millionaires currently reside in Johannesburg. However, experts expect Cape Town to surpass it by the end of the decade.

Millionaire hotspots

The latest Africa Wealth Report for 2024 by Henley & Partners and New World Wealth reveals that South Africa now has 37 400 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs). This is 11 300 fewer than at the end of 2023. To be classified as an HNWI, one must have liquid wealth exceeding US$1 million (roughly R19 million). Liquid net worth is the amount of money someone has in cash or cash equivalents (assets that they can easily convert into cash) after deducting any liabilities.

South African millionaires’ hotspots are scattered across the country, with Johannesburg leading the pack with 12 300 HNWIs. It has the most HNWIs on the African continent. Many millionaires are concentrated around Sandton or in the affluent suburb of Westcliff, according to Business Tech.

Cape Town follows closely with 7 400 HNWIs, boasting some of South Africa’s richest residential areas such as Clifton, Camps Bay, Bishopscourt, Constantia, and Llandudno. There has been a noticeable increase in wealthy South Africans relocating from Johannesburg and Pretoria to Cape Town. The increase in semigration to the Western Cape is due to factors such as better governance at provincial and local levels. Cape Town is also an extremely popular retirement destination for migration millionaires from Europe and other parts of Africa.

According to Henley & Partners “Cape Town is on track to overtake Johannesburg to become Africa’s richest city by 2030. We expect several major Johannesburg-based companies to move their head offices to Cape Town over the next decade, which should help to drive wealth growth. Lifestyle estates on the outskirts of the city are projected to perform especially well in attracting new HNWIs”.

Top 10 richest cities

The top 10 wealthiest cities and areas in Africa are:

1. Johannesburg
2. Cape Town
3. Cairo
4. Nairobi
5. Lagos
6. The Cape Winelands (including  towns like Paarl, Franschhoek, and Stellenbosch)
7. Durban, Umhlanga, and Ballito
8. The Garden Route, Western Cape
9. Casablanca
10. Pretoria

Ultra-wealthy HNWIs and centi-millionaires, those with wealth exceeding $100 million (R1.9 billion), own many of the wine farms in the Cape Winelands area. They often decide to retire there.

The Garden Route stretching from Mossel Bay to Storms River on South Africa’s South Coast, includes affluent areas like Beachy Head Drive in Plettenberg Bay known as “Africa’s Millionaire Row” or “Millionaire’s Mile”, lined with mansions overlooking the beaches of Plettenberg Bay.