By PAUL REDFERN
Special correspondent

The wealth of Africa’s super rich grew by more than 14 per cent last year, the second highest continental figure in the world after Latin America.

According to the annual survey of the world’s richest people by the investment bank Merrill Lynch and its Consultancy firm Capgemini, the wealth of Africa’s richest people amounts to around $900 billion, a staggering figure in a continent beset by poverty and low income.

Merrill Lynch estimates that there are around 100,000 “high net worth individuals (HNWI)” across Africa. These are people with at least $1 million to invest in financial assets excluding their first homes.

According to Merrill Lynch, the phenomenal growth in wealth by Africa’s wealthiest elite is down to high commodity prices, which led to a real GDP growth in the continent of 5.1 per cent in 2006.

“This in turn led to increased interest in foreign direct investment, particularly in the mining and exploration sectors.

“China has been an active player in Africa, investing heavily in various sectors and showing particular interest in mining. Taken together, these factors bolstered the continent’s HNWI population, helping it grow by 12.5 percent in 2006 and increasing its wealth by 14 per cent.”

Africa still has relatively few millionaires compared to other continents; its 100,000 rich are only a quarter of those of Latin America and a third of those in the Middle East.

The wealthiest continent remains North America where there are an estimated 3.2 million HNWIs with a combined wealth of $11,300 billion.

This figure is around $1,200 billion more than Europe, the next biggest continent in terms of the numbers of super rich.

In Britain alone, a staggering 484,580 people have assets of more than $1 million and worldwide, there are nearly 10 million people who could be correctly labelled HNWIs.

The report says much of the income is spent on luxury items, art collections, jewellery and charitable causes.


http://www.nationmedia.com

Where do most of these 'super rich' live?

My bet is on South Africa.

Actually they are now all over Africa, If you ask me lives have changed alot in the last 10 years from Burkinafaso to Benin (maybe global economy has a role in it) but that said, many are still in poverty...

Good news then.

The distibution of it would be next I guess.

this could just be another blip though, a bit like Britain’s current economic boom, if the whole sale market price of commodities goes down again ( like immediately after many African nations originally gained independence from their former colonial masters.... all the current investments (like the Nigerian satellite programme, and various african water distillation programmes) , could come to an end…. The only reason the whole sale price has gone up is because there are more hands wanting Africas resources , namely china…..africa's current economic growth is again tied to external factors...i only pray that africa has enough time and wisdom to build safe gaurds
.

Then whats the point of getting wealthy? Or maybe your just joking..

Anyway I hope this newfound wealth is in black hands, although I doubt it.

Can well believe it, at home right now and too many people in 4x4's and fortified homes. A cliche, but the gap between rich and poor is increasing at an incredible rate. I really doubt that the "super rich" have any interests in investing in Africa, Japanese motor manufacturers are laughing as are "South African"(white) businesses and of course the Chinese and our old friends in Africa Indians and Lebonese.

African leaders are pure fools in my book. they all make school boy errors and wonder why they just suffered a coup. LMFAO!!!!

There has to be new thinking!

@ newstyle. I tihnk this is about the continent rather than the dispora and our whittle wealth... as in our wealth that only ends up in the hands of others as people work hard, get rich after investing wisely and raise kids so dissasociated from themselves and their (true) culture that they marry europeans rather than keep the money in the community and with their own. Fine marrying them with some kind of self awareness to raise kids that know themselves and current climate regarding our situation but all i have to say is Chris eubank is worthless as a black person in the long run for that very reason.

Please read above.

People really need to understand the diffrence between real wealth and simply being rich. Fine if YOU are well off and have invested wisely but it dosen't mean squat if its not doing something for the people around you. Heck, the richest ball player/actor in America could take a trip to europe and get treated like a common still urban talking street thug as Opera found out in France.

Fine having a rich 10% but if its not distributed then its whittle wealth as mentioned, the economy will change and it'll all have been for nothing.

And yes the vast majority of wealthy people know their worth isn't just theirs and understand that it does well for their people, they're not stuipd as too many of us are/seem to be.

(Not dissing opera, was just an example)

Its not wise to give away money. Your better off creating opportunities through investment and making a profit (i.e. creating jobs, building schools, etc). Most ball players build thier own businesses that benefit the black community. Why give away a million dollars when people will simply squander it on material things when you can take that money build a business and give them a job? I agree with you in principal but I STRONGLY disagree with automatic redistribution of wealth.

Sorry, misread you in the first place. Thats what I meant, didn't mean literally giving away money, sad to say but the majority of people in poverty wouldn't know how to spend it. The idea being to not give people what they want but focus on what they need.

It all needs to go somewhere man, Black people have been visiting England for centuries some of them were the rich affluent type with estates of their own but over time they washed out into the larger european community so theres nothing left of them or the estate they would have left behind. The same is happening now.

A higher tax on those rich people is more of a good idea, the money taken can then be set aside soley for redevelopment. Guess the land itself is an issue in Zimbabwe and the rich farmers hold a lot of sway as they can vote and throw their money this and that way but Mugabe should tax the hell out of them.

I am on about the continent as I mentioned I'm home at the moment. I'm concerned that the "super rich" of Africa are doing what the rich all overthe world are doing looking out for themselves and NOT creating opportunities for Africans. I see it here rich people not in anyway supporting local industry hence the Japanese cars and other European/American goods.