About 20% of them studied at the University of Cape Town, 18% at the University of the Witwatersrand and 13% at Stellenbosch University.
- A new report on the super rich found that around 30% of them study law in South Africa, followed by finance and accounting.
- They made money mainly from financial and professional or real estate services.
- Nearly half of the super rich in SA live or have a second home on so-called lifestyle estates.
Nearly 30% of South Africa’s super rich have a law degree, according to the latest Africa Wealth Report, published by Henley & Partners and New World Wealth.
“Wealth” refers to a person’s net assets and includes all of his assets (property, cash, stock, business interests) less any liabilities. The research defines high net worth individuals (HNWIs) as those with wealth of US $ 1 million (approximately Rand 15.5 million) or more. In 2021, there were 39 300 millionaires in SA with combined wealth of $ 651 billion.
According to the report, it views wealth as a better measure of an economy’s financial health than gross domestic product.
What have they studied, what do they do?
About 28% of the super rich in the country studied finance and accounting (BCom, MBA, CA, CFA), 7% studied medicine or science, 7% studied computer science and information technology, and 5% studied engineering.
The main sectors in which they have acquired their wealth are financial and professional services (35%), real estate (12%) and technology and telecommunications (10%).
About 20% of them studied at the University of Cape Town, 18% at the University of the Witwatersrand and 13% at Stellenbosch University.
Goodbye golf ownership, hello wildlife
Another trend that has emerged is that nearly half (48%) of the super rich in SA live or have a second home on so-called lifestyle estates. This is up from 30% in 2011. But there has been a shift from previously favorite golf estates towards wildlife and park properties, which became more popular after the Covid-19 pandemic. Pension complexes are also becoming more popular.
“Affluent buyers in South Africa are increasingly moving towards properties that have apartments, so most new luxury real estate developments focus on apartment living rather than homes,” the report said. “Most developers are now creating small neighborhoods within their lifestyle properties, as opposed to the old model where houses were evenly spaced.”
The new model allows for more parks and open spaces between these “neighborhoods” on the estate. Many HNWIs have chosen to work remotely and live in smaller cities such as Hermanus, Plettenberg Bay, and Franschhoek.
About 4,500 HNWIs have left the SA since 2011. Most of these people have gone to the UK, Australia and the US. Significant numbers also went to Portugal, Switzerland, Israel, Mauritius, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Monaco and Malta.
