Durban - It’s official: KwaZulu-Natal is one of the preferred holiday destinations of the country’s super rich, despite being home to only seven percent of them.
This was one of the findings of the South Africa Wealth Review 2016 report published by New World Wealth in association with Mastercard, said researchers on Thursday.
La Lucia, Umhlanga and Ballito were identified as hot spots, with some favouring them not just for getaways but for second homes.
“When the wealthy are not visiting their second homes, their preferred local holiday destinations include Cape Town, Umhlanga, Ballito, the Cape Winelands and the Kruger National Park.”
Assets
“Internationally, Mauritius, the Seychelles, and the Okavango Delta are popular warm-weather destinations, while skiing in Switzerland tops the list for cold-weather recreation.”
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The report, examining data from 2007, found that at the end of 2015, there were about 38 500 high-net-worth individuals - those with net assets of $1-million (about R15-million) or more - living in South Africa, with a combined wealth of $159-billion.
Of these, 620 were ultra-high-net-worth individuals (those with net assets of $30-million or more). Of this total, there were seven billionaires and 91 “centimillionaires”, identified as those with net assets of between $100-million and $1-billion.
Johannesburg is home to the largest portion of South Africa’s high-net-worth individuals (44 percent). There are also sizeable populations living in Cape Town (18 percent), Pretoria (seven percent) and Durban (seven percent).
A photo posted by Tasneem Kadwa (@taskadwa) on Nov 5, 2015 at 12:26pm PST
According to the research, there were 17 300 South African high-net-worth individuals from previously disadvantaged groups at the end of 2015, which equates to 45 percent of the high-net-worth individual population.
The number of South African rich people is forecast to grow by 10 percent, to reach about 42 300 by 2017.
Classic cars, wine and art were high on the list of investment preferences. The most expensive car purchased by a South African collector last year was a Ferrari 250 GTO from the 1960s bought for $24-million.
Other popular collectables include top-end men’s watches and rare wild animals such as buffalo, that can fetch $20-million each.
According to Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth, ultra-high-net-worth individuals are usually big business owners, whereas high-net-worth individuals have typically built their wealth through professional careers, as attorneys, chartered accountants or doctors- or own a family business.
“While many high-net-worth individuals are choosing to leave South Africa and have most of their assets tied up in local property and equities, ultra-high-net-worth individuals are staying, possibly because of their business interests.”
The Mercury