56 percent of Africa’s millionaires and over 90 percent of its billionaires lived in just five countries in 2023 – South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and Morocco, according to The Africa Wealth Report 2024 published by Henley & Partners and New World Wealth. There were 135,200 people who owned wealth of 1 million U.S. dollars or more living in the continent that year, as well as 342 centi-millionaires and 21 billionaires.

As the following chart shows, South Africa had the highest number of so-called high net worth individuals (HNWIs) with 37,400 millionaires, 102 centi-millionaires and 5 billionaires. It was followed by Egypt with 15,600 millionaires, 52 centi-millionaires and 7 billionaires, while Nigeria placed 3rd on the continent with 8,226 HNWIs. Rounding up the top ten were Kenya (7,216 HNWIs), Morocco (6,836), Mauritius (5,115), Algeria (2,809), Ghana (2,706), Ethiopia (2,704) and Namibia (2,303).

Looking at the data in terms of cities, then South Africa’s Johannesburg comes first as the place with most HNWIs in Africa, with 12,300 millionaires, 25 centi-millionaires and 2 billionaires, followed by Cape Town with 7,400 millionaires, 28 centi-millionaires and 1 billionaire. Cairo in Egypt (7,200 millionaires), Nairobi in Kenya (4,400), and Lagos in Nigeria (4,200) also rank high on this basis.