South Africa’s number of dollar millionaires rose by nearly 16% last year, joining three other countries with the fastest-growing population of the super-rich in the world, SAGoodNews.co.za reported on Wednesday.
According to the 10th annual World Wealth Report released by United States-based investment groups Merrill Lynch and Capgemini on Tuesday, global millionaire numbers totalled 8,7-million in 2005, an increase of 6,5% on the previous year.
The report defines millionaires — “high net-worth individuals”, or HNWIs — as those holding more than $1-million in financial assets, excluding their primary residence.
“The HNWI population grew most dramatically in South Korea, rising 21,3%; India rising 19,3%; Russia, where it rose 17,4%; and South Africa, where it grew by 15,9%,” the report says.
“Overall HNWI wealth during the period grew by 8,5%, to $33,3-trillion in financial holdings. These financial gains were particularly strong in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, where emerging markets continue to play a moderate game of ‘catch up’ with major markets.”
The report attributes South Africa’s gain in part to the phenomenal growth on the JSE.
The JSE all-share index was the third-best performing in the world, with a 43% return in 2005, slightly under the 43,1% recorded by Poland’s WIG20. The top performer was the South Korean Kospi, with a 54% return, while other emerging-market exchanges lagged behind, with India at 42,3%, Mexico at 37,8% and Brazil 27,7%.
Africa as a whole saw the highest growth in HNWI numbers, at 11,7%, reflecting growing prosperity across the continent. The Middle East had 9,8% new millionaires, Latin America 9,7%, the Asia-Pacific region 7,3%, North America 6,9% and Europe 4,5%.
The actual wealth of Africa’s high net-worth individuals rose by 14,5%, the second-highest increase, after the Middle East, in the world.