Wealth

10 graphs that show what it’s like to be rich in South Africa

Staff Writer

 ·10 Apr 2017

Audience and data tracker, Effective Measure, has released its High Net Worth Individual Report for 2017, detailing the habits of South Africa’s wealthy.

The report is based on a survey of over 9,000 respondents in South Africa with internet access across the country. The survey was delivered between September and November of 2016 with an objective of determining habits, attitudes, and product ownership among High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs).

HNWIs are defined as those people having a personal income of R50,001+ per month, before any deductions, as apposed to Low to Medium Net Worth Individuals (LMNWI).

While prior reports on HNWIs in South Africa have typically focused on the earning habits of the super-rich, Effective Measure focuses on the habits, attitudes, behaviours and product ownership of high income earners.

(Click on images to enlarge),

What a wealthy person looks like in South Africa

• HNWI individuals are three times more likely to hold a University degree.
• 70% of them speak English at home, with Afrikaans following at a distance second at 27%.
• 89% of them own their own homes.
• They are 1.5x more likely to be married.
• 32% of them don’t have children while 24% have children between 11 and 18 years of age.

What they do for a living 

How they’re saving their money each month

• LMNWI listed professional success as their main source of income (44%), compared to74% of HNWI.
• 13% of HNWI have a family-owned business or a startup as their main source.
• 12% of HNWI state that growth in investment assets is their main source of income.

Decision makers

How much time they spend with the internet, radio, tv and newspapers

• 94% of HNWI accessed the Internet yesterday, compared to 86% of LMNWI.
• 51% of HNWI are the sole users of their device to access the internet, compared to 43% of LMNWI.
• 61% of HNWI on mobile used a wi-fi connection, as opposed to 77% of LMNWI who used data.
• 52% of HNWI on desktops used an ADSL connection, and 24% used a fibre connection.

How fast is their internet?

HNWI use their internet for:

• Sending and receiving email
• Searching
• Banking
• Reading or accessing current news articles
• Travel bookings or arrangements
• Reading newspapers or magazines
• Checking the weather
• Social networking
• Accessing maps or directions
• Instant messaging

LNWI use their internet for:

What they are buying online

What they have in their homes

The top owned items by HNWI:

• 80% own a TV.
• 78% own a motor vehicle.
• 76% own a PC or laptop.
• 74% own an electric stove.
• 72% own a DVD player.

Favorite brands and where they shop

What they do in their spare time

Read: How Africa’s and South Africa’s super-rich make their money