By Andrew Amoils
The 2018 Africa Wealth Report examines wealth trends in Africa over the past 10 years. The report also reviews the top spending habits of the wealthy in Africa.
Prime property trends
Prime residential property is a popular asset class for Africa’s wealthy, especially luxury apartments, homes in residential estates and beachfront villas.
The most expensive cities for prime residential property in Africa are ranked below.
City (ranked in US$ per square metre):
- Cape Town (Bantry Bay and Clifton): $6 100
- Durban (Lagoon Drive in Umhlanga): $2 900
- Johannesburg (Central Sandton): $2 800
- Nairobi: $1 900
- Marrakesh: $1 800
- Tangier: $1 800
- Mombasa: $1 700
- Luanda: $1 700
- Casablanca: $1 500
- Accra: $1 200
- Lagos: $1 100
- Abidjan: $1 000
- Alexandria: $1 000
- Maputo: $900
- Cairo: $900
- Kampala: $800
Note: Figures for Dec 2017. Refers to the US$ price of a prime 200-400 square metre apartment/villa in best part of each city/town. For our purposes Durban includes Umhlanga.
As reflected, South African cities dominate the above list. It should, however, be noted that residential prices in South Africa are coming under strain in 2018.
See related article: SA’s hotspots and most expensive streets for prime apartments.
Also, see how Africa’s square metre prices compare to the rest of the world – read Top 20 most expensive residential property markets worldwide.
Luxury travel destinations
The report also reviews the top travel destinations for the wealthy in Africa.
South Africa is the main luxury tourist destination in Africa. Major SA destinations for wealthy people include the Kruger Park area, Cape Town, Umhlanga and Franschhoek.
Major destinations in the rest of Africa include: Mauritius, Seychelles, Marrakech in Morocco, Casablanca in Morocco, Cairo in Egypt, the Serengeti in Tanzania, Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, the Masai Mara in Kenya, Livingstone in Zambia and the Okavango Swamps in Botswana. Gorilla safaris in the Virunga Mountains and the Bwindi Forest (Uganda) are also popular.
Popular hotels for wealthy people visiting Africa include La Mamounia in Morocco, the Four Seasons in Seychelles and the 12 Apostles Hotel & Spa in Cape Town.
Popular game lodges include Ngorongoro Crater Lodge in Tanzania, the Royal Livingstone in Zambia, Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp in Kenya and Singita in South Africa.
Other interesting findings from the report:
- Safest countries in Africa: Mauritius, Botswana and Namibia.
- Top African country by average wealth per person: Mauritius at $32 700.
- Top African country by total wealth: South Africa at $722 billion.
- Top African city by total wealth: Johannesburg at $276 billion (includes Sandton).
