Measuring what it takes to be ‘rich’ can be highly subjective – especially in a country like South Africa where wealth inequality is among the highest in the world.<\/p>\n
While a middle-class family with a humble home in the suburbs may be considered far richer than the half of the country that struggles to meet even basic food requirements<\/a><\/strong> each month, the level of indebtedness<\/a><\/strong> of consumers across all income levels means that even those that appear to be well-off may be struggling, financially.<\/p>\n For wealth researchers, the world’s richest are labelled ‘high net-worth individuals<\/a><\/strong>‘ (HNWIs), and the barrier for entry into that elite group is $1 million – which equates to around R12.5 million at current rates.<\/p>\n The $1 million mark isn’t ‘money in the bank’ wealth, but rather a measure of an individual’s net worth – total wealth, assets minus liabilities. So if you have a R12 million house and drive a R1 million car, but are stilling paying off the bond and financing, you’re not considered a high net wealth individual.<\/p>\n This measure of net wealth is also one of the metrics used by South Africa’s big banks when they look at taking on ‘rich’ clients.<\/p>\n South Africa’s major retail banks all offer a variety of banking products that cater for all markets – from entry level starter accounts, to mid- and higher-tier accounts that open banking to customers with more varied banking needs.<\/p>\n However, the level of banking that is reserved for the ‘rich’ is the world of private banking, which comes with strict requirements in order to be considered.<\/p>\n Private wealth<\/strong><\/p>\n For South Africa’s top-rated<\/a><\/strong> private bank, Investec, in order to become a client, you need to be a professional (engineer, accountant, lawyer, doctor, etc) and need to apply and let the group run a credit check on you.<\/p>\n