How much money you need to earn to be in the top 1 percent in South Africa
Credit Suisse has published its Global Wealth Report for 2018, showing the breakdown of wealth in South Africa, and what it takes to be a 1% earner.
According to the report, approximately 61,000 South Africans are part of the global 1%, representing a tiny fraction (0.2%) of the 35.434 million adults in the country.
South Africa has high levels of inequality when it comes to the distribution of wealth, with the country’s top 10% of wealth holders controlling 68% of the total $786 billion wealth (ie, 3.5 million people have $534.5 billion in wealth).
But this imbalanced distribution becomes more alarming the further it is broken down.
The top 5% control 57.8% of the wealth ($867 billion) – while the top 1%, controls 36.4% of the wealth ($546 billion).
| Category | Number of adults | % of wealth | Wealth in USD | Average wealth per person | ZAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 10% | 3.54 million | 67.9% | $534.5 billion | $150 860 | R2.1 million |
| Top 5% | 1.77 million | 57.8% | $454.3 billion | $256 660 | R3.7 million |
| Top 1% | 354 340 | 36.4% | $286.1 billion | $807 400 | R11.6 million |
Using this data, we can determine that anyone with net wealth totalling roughly $151,000 (R2.1 million) is easily within the top 10% richest people in the country – while the average one-percenter is worth $807,000 (R11.6 million).
While the breakdown provides a general idea of how wealth is distributed at the top, the reality is quite different.
The Top 10% average (R2.1 million) includes the one-percenters, who account for more than half the held wealth. Half of the top 10 percenters only account for R80.2 billion (an average of $45,300 or R660,000 per person) – meaning the barrier for entry into the ‘top earners’ list is lower than you think.
The graphic below breaks down the wealth spread further.
| Category | Number of adults | % of wealth | Wealth in USD | Average wealth per person | ZAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 1% | 354 340 | 36.4% | $286.1 billion | $807 400 | R11.6 million |
| Top 5% (minus 1 percenters) | 1.42 million | 21.4% | $168.2 billion | $118 870 | R1.7 million |
| Top 10% (minus 5 percenters) | 1.77 million | 10.2% | $80.2 billion | $45 311 | R660 000 |
| Rest of South Africa | 31.9 million | 32.0% | $251.1 billion | $7 886 | R113 000 |
The middle class
Globally speaking, the middle class band of wealth is between $10,000 (R144,000) and $100,000 (R1.44 million) – in South Africa, approximately 33.1% of the adult population fall into this category, representing about 11.72 million adults.
The majority, however, are still below the $10,000 mark – 63.7% of the adult population (22.58 million adults) have a net worth below this level.
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