British company Knight Frank’s annual Wealth Report tracking the growth of Ultra High Net Worth individuals hit my inbox last night. It defines UHNWIs as those with net assets over $30m (R500m). Their number rose 3% last year and now stands at 193,490 people.
The report contains depressing data for South Africa where the number of UHNWI rose by just 8% in the past decade, the second lowest of 20 countries listed (Spain went backwards). The other African countries on the list, Kenya (+93%) and Nigeria (+40%) did a lot better.
At the other end, Vietnam tops the growth table with a booming economy boosting that country’s UHNWI by a staggering 320% between 2006 and 2016, shading other Asian boomers India (+290%) and China (+281%). The US has the biggest by number at 69,000 UHNWIs, up 30% in the last decade; with China at 14,310 and the UK 9,470.
Because of oversized tax contributions the super rich are a prime target for most countries. Knight Frank says they tend to migrate to places which offer “a fiscal and political safe haven” – current magnets being Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Malta, the UAE, Qatar, Monaco and Israel. After Budget 2017 gave the top end another bath, it’s clearly not a field where SA is playing. A pity SA politicians cannot grasp their problem is excessive poverty, not one of too many wealthy people.
