Number of Millionaires in Kenya Increases to 9,432

The number of High-net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) in Kenya reported a 3.3 percent increase to 9,482 in 2018 from 9,176 in the previous year according to the 2019 edition of the Wealth Report by Knight Frank.

The number is projected to increase by 22 percent to 11,584 individuals over the next five years to 2023, a much faster growth compared to the 13 percent increase recorded since 2013 (8,400 HNWIs).

Out of the 9,482 HNWIs in 2018, 125 were ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) – those with a net worth of over US$30 million excluding their primary residences. Only four individuals crossed into this wealth bracket in 2018, with the number expected to jump to 155 UHNWIs by 2023, a 24 percent growth.

Nairobi hosts most of the country’s ultra-wealthy (net worth of at least 3 billion shillings) with 82 residing in the capital as of 2018 and the number is projected to rise to 102 over the next five years.

GlobalData WealthInsight’s data showed the top sectors that generated wealth in the country last year were financial services and investments at 17 percent of the total; technology and telecommunications at 15 percent; retail, fashion and luxury goods at 11 percent; transport and logistics, manufacture of FMCG, and media at 7 percent; and basic materials (the extractive industry e.g. mining, oil and gas etc.) at 6 percent.

According to The Wealth Report’s Attitudes Survey, 62 percent of Kenyan wealth advisors and managers said their clients’ wealth increased in 2018, with 8 percent recording no change, while 30 percent said it decreased. The majority of respondents (88 percent) anticipate their clients’ wealth will grow in 2019, with 4 percent forecasting no change while 8 percent project a decrease.

Transferring wealth is still a delicate matter among Kenya’s rich, with only 43 percent of respondents to the Attitudes Survey saying their clients have robust succession plans in place to pass their wealth to the next generation.

Globally, countries with the highest levels of succession planning include Saudi Arabia (65 percent), UK (62 percent), US (61 percent), and South Africa and Spain (60 percent).

According to the survey, only 24 percent of Kenya’s UHNWIs have a second passport or dual nationality. A further 20 percent of Kenya’s ultra-rich are considering acquiring a second passport/dual nationality. However, only 9 percent of Kenyan UHNWIs are considering emigrating permanently to other countries, with the most popular destinations being the UK (67 percent), Canada (48 percent), US (33 percent), Germany (14 percent), Australia and UAE (10 perent).

On sharing wealth, the country’s super-rich continued giving to charitable causes in 2018, with 60 percent of the respondents saying their clients maintained their philanthropic activities, some 10 percent gave more, while 30 percent reduced.

On education, almost half of wealthy Kenyans (49 percent) send their children overseas for primary and secondary education, with 80 percent of respondents expecting this trend to increase over the coming few years. The majority (63 percent) of Kenya’s super-rich already send their children overseas for university education, with 95 percent of respondents expecting the trend to rise further over the next few years.