A new report shows that wealthy South Africans are leaving the country while they still have the money, as a weak local currency has taken a toll on their fortunes.<\/p>\n
The South Africa 2016 Wealth Report, set to be released this week, shows that the end of 2015, there were approximately 38,500 HNWIs living in South Africa, with a combined wealth of US$159 billion.<\/p>\n
HNWIs are defined as people who have a net worth of US$1 million or more, according to metrics used by research firm, New World Wealth – the authors of the report.<\/p>\n
South Africa is the largest HNWI market in Africa;\u00a0however, according to NWW, South African volumes of wealthy individuals decreased by 10% during the review period (2007 – 2015).<\/p>\n
“Growth was negatively influenced by a significant depreciation of the rand against the US dollar, falling equity markets and the migration of a significant number of HNWIs out of the country,” the report said.<\/p>\n
2015, NWW said, was a particularly poor year for SA millionaires \u2013 HNWI volumes declined by 18% during the year. The research firm report 46,800 wealthy people in 2014.<\/p>\n
Between 2000 and 2014, approximately 8,000 HNWIs abandoned the country, New World Wealth said in a report last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlong with the rise in second citizenship applications, the number of people changing domicile (or immigrating) has increased dramatically since the turn of the century,\u201d NWW said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMajor reasons for this include: turmoil in home country, security concerns and optimizing education of children.\u201d<\/p>\n
South African HNWIs tended to move to Australia, the UK, Cyprus, Mauritius, the USA and Canada, NWW said.<\/p>\n
Over the two year forecast period, the number of South African HNWIs is forecast to grow by 10%, to reach approximately 42,300 by 2017.<\/p>\n
“Growth is constrained by the current electricity crisis and a rising level of government regulation in the business sector,” it said.<\/p>\n
Why more South Africans are leaving the country<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n How many whites have left South Africa in the last 5 years<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n