These are the richest cities in South Africa

 ·25 Oct 2020

Update: The article previously attributed total wealth to millionaires only. The total wealth reflects all private wealth held by individuals in a country.

New World Wealth and AfrAsia Bank have published the latest mid-year wealth review, revealing which countries and cities in the world are home to the most high net worth individuals – including South Africa.

The figures in the dataset are up to June 2020 and therefore take into account the impact of the recent coronavirus outbreak on the world’s wealthy, the group said.

A notable trend among the countries tracked by the group is how European nations have seen their HNWI wealth decline over the last decade, compared to other countries.

While countries such as the United States, China and India have seen a massive increase in wealth over the last 10 years (ranging from 20% to 75%, according to NWW), countries like the UK, Germany, France and Italy have all seen HNWI wealth decline.

China’s growth in HNWI wealth stands out as the country is also one of the biggest exporters of HNWIs, showing that it is experiencing huge growth (+75%) in wealth held by its richest citizens despite many leaving the country to settle elsewhere.

China has a significantly higher total wealth than the UK, despite having the same number of millionaires. Its total wealth is also the same as Japan, but it has half the number of millionaires.

Total wealth refers to the private wealth held by all the individuals living in each country. It includes all their assets (property, cash, equities, business interests) less any liabilities.

The table below outlines the richest countries in the world.

Country Total wealth ($bn) $1m+ $10m+ $100m+ $1bn+
Unites States $58 278 4 700 200 206 330 8 588 690
China $18 850 667 000 31 100 1 722 185
Japan $18 557 1 270 700 24 210 768 32
United Kingdom $7 848 654 200 20 670 924 84
India $7 659 307 500 19 290 990 111
Germany $7 560 638 500 19 620 850 65
Australia $5 598 343 300 11 240 415 33
Canada $5 529 322 300 10 820 464 37
France $5 032 231 000 5 870 300 31
Italy $3 348 175 600 4 730 239 24

South Africa

South Africa has the highest total wealth held in Africa, with private individuals holding a total $552 billion in wealth.

The country is home to 33,300 dollar millionaires – this includes 1,760 multi-millionaires ($10 million-plus), 80 centi-millionaires ($100 million-plus) and five billionaires ($1 billion-plus).

NWW’s data showed that HNWI wealth in South Africa decreased by 18% over the last 10 years, with projected growth over the next decade at 30%.

The table below outlines the richest countries in Africa

Country Total wealth ($bn) $1m+ $10m+ $100m+ $1bn+
South Africa $552 33 300 1 760 80 5
Egypt $264 14 500 760 49 6
Nigeria $151 6 600 340 18 3
Morocco $100 4 000 180 18 3
Kenya $81 7 500 300 14
Ethiopia $51 2 800 130 4
Tanzania $49 2 100 80 7 1
Ghana $46 2 300 90 3
Angola $41 1 900 80 2 1
Mauritius $37 4 000 170 5 1

Among South African cities, Johannesburg ranked as the richest city in the country, home to 13,900 millionaires. Total wealth held by Joburg millionaires is $209 billion.

Cape Town ranks second, followed by Paarl, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch (collectively), and Pretoria.

The table below outlines South Africa’s richest cities.

City Country Total wealth ($bn) $1m+ $10m+ $1bn+
Johannesburg South Africa $209 13 900 730 2
Cape Town South Africa $112 6 000 350 1
Franschhoek, Paarl and Stellenbosch South Africa $41 2 400 140 2
Pretoria South Africa $38 2 200 90

The table below outlines the richest cities in the world:

City Country Total wealth ($bn) $1m+ $10m+ $1bn+
New York City USA $2 662 347 600 15 560 60
Tokyo Japan $2 405 305 900 7 380 12
San Francisco bay Area USA $2 295 217 800 10 150 43
London UK $2 021 267 300 9 040 36
Beijing China $1 669 113 300 5 400 40
Shanghai China $1 508 110 800 5 270 38
Los Angeles USA $1 232 177 900 7 940 32
Sydney Australia $964 116 000 4 030 14
Chicago USA $929 141 300 6 540 24
Singapore Singapore $885 197 800 6 370 20

Read: A significant number of wealthy South Africans have left the country

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