Despite ranking high (6th) among the continent’s wealthiest countries, it is surprising to note that Ghana has no billionaires, according to the latest 2022 Africa Wealth Report.

Combined wealth held by private citizens in Ghana totaled US$59 billion, albeit, this comprised of: 0 billionaires, 15 centi-millionaires, 120 multi-millionaires and 2,900 HNWIs. Egypt came atop South Africa with the most billionaires (7), South Africa (5), Nigeria (4), Morocco (3) as well as Tanzania and Angola which happened to have one each.

On a continent-wide basis, Africa now has 21 billionaires (worth US$1 billion+), 305 centi-millionaires (worth $100 million+), 5,110 multi-millionaires (worth US$10 million+) and 136,000 High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs) with a private wealth of $1 million or more.

More importantly, the report states that the two wealthiest cities in Africa are in South Africa. Johannesburg ranks the wealthiest with total private wealth of $239 billion and Cape Town comes second with total private wealth of $131 billion. Among the list, Accra was the ninth wealthiest city with a total private wealth of $35 billion; HNWIs numbered 2,400 and 110 multi-millionaires.

Based on the rankings, Ghana falls behind the continent’s top five giants (South Africa- $651 billion, Egypt- $307 billion, Nigeria- $228 billion, Morocco- $125 billion and Kenya- $91 billion), which account for more than 50 per cent of the continent’s total private wealth.

The report, was published by research firm, New World Wealth and Henley & Partners, using data from New World Wealth and Henley & Partners’ wealthy individuals’ database.

“Total wealth refers to the private wealth held by all the individuals living in a country, including their assets (property, cash, equities and business interests) less any liabilities. We exclude government funds from our figures,” the report states.

Ghana ranked 7th in wealth per Capita

Data from the report reveals that the total private wealth currently held on the continent is US$2.1 trillion and is projected to rise by 38 per cent over the next 10 years, according to the report.

Dominic Volek, Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners, the leading global residence and citizenship advisory firm, said:

“Strong growth in private wealth of over 50% is also predicted in Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, and Zambia over the next 10 years. HNWIs in Africa are extremely mobile and their movements provide valuable insights into future economic trends in each country.”
Dominic Volek

In terms of Wealth per capita (the average wealth per person), Ghana dropped to seventh (7th) — $1,890, and Kenya and Nigeria dropped lower to 8^th and 11^th positions respectively. Mauritius ranked above South Africa with an average wealth of $34,500 against $10,790 for South Africa.

On a ten-year (2011-2021) growth trend, total wealth in Africa has fallen by 7 per cent, the report stated, adding that, “performance was constrained by poor returns in the three largest African markets, namely south Africa, Egypt and Nigeria. Angola also performed poorly.”

Mauritius was the fastest growing market in Africa during the period under review (in percentage growth terms- 74%), followed by Rwanda (60%). Ethiopia came in at third place with a growth rate of 52 per cent. The growth rate of total wealth in Ghana was 36%, taking the sixth position.

Andrew Amoils Head of Research at New World Wealth, noted that: “Africa is home to some of the world’s fastest growing markets, including Rwanda, Uganda, and Mauritius. We forecast private wealth growth of over 60% in all three countries in the next decade, driven by especially strong performance in the technology and professional services sectors.”