Africa is home to some 122,500 individuals with liquid investable assets of $1m or more, according to the Africa Wealth Report 2025 from international advisory firm Henley & Partners. Published in partnership with New World Wealth, a Johannesburg-based market research firm, the report notes that South Africa is the continent's most dominant wealth hub and home to 41,100 high net worth individuals (HNWIs), the term used in global wealth management circles to refer to dollar millionaires. Egypt comes second with 14,800 HNWIs, followed by Morocco (7,500), Nigeria (7,200) and Kenya (6,800). Collectively, these five nations account for 63% of Africa's millionaires.
By global standards, Africa's millionaire numbers are modest. New York alone has 384,500, London 215,700 and Hong Kong 154,900. However, Africa is minting new millionaires at one of the fastest rates worldwide, with the report projecting that the continent's millionaire population could grow by 65% over the next decade.
Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners, tells African Business that several factors will drive the next big wave of wealth creation on the continent. "These include population growth and urbanisation, the formalisation of previously informal economic activity, deeper digital and financial inclusion, improved regional connectivity and the continued development of consumer markets," he says.
"Technology-enabled sectors including fintech, software, digital payments, telecommunications, e-commerce and data infrastructure are increasingly important because they allow companies to scale across borders without the same capital intensity as many traditional industries," he adds.
Originally published by African Business.