Number of Kenyans with a net worth of Ksh2.2M and above revealed

By , K24 Digital
On Tue, 2 Mar, 2021 12:45 | 2 mins read
Nairobi womn conned millions
Money. PHOTO/File

Kenya has approximately 475,000 people who have a net worth of $20,000 (Ksh2.2 million) and above, a recent report by Knight Frank has revealed.

The report, whose findings were published on Bloomberg, says that only one per cent of Kenya’s population (47.5 million) is worth at least $20,000.

The leading sovereign land in the world which has the wealthiest one per cent of its population is Monaco. For you to make the cut for the wealthiest top per cent in Monaco, you have to have a net worth of at least $8 million (Ksh878 million). Monaco has a population of slightly over 38,000, with the principality boasting of being home to some of the world’s wealthiest people. Residents here do not pay income taxes.

Switzerland and the U.S. have the next highest entry points, requiring fortunes of $5.1 million (Ksh560 million) and $4.4 million (Ksh483 million), respectively, according to the property broker’s 2021 Wealth Report. In Singapore, $2.9 million (Ksh318 million) will get you over the threshold.

“You can clearly see the influence of tax policy at the top,” Liam Bailey, Knight Frank’s global head of research, told Bloomberg. “Then you have the sheer breadth and depth of the U.S. market.”

With a one per cent of the population being worth at least $20,000 (Ksh2.2 million), Kenya was the lowest ranked of 30 locations in Knight Frank’s study. Monaco’s elite 1% is 400 times wealthier than Kenya’s elite 1%.

The World Bank estimates that 2 million people in Kenya have fallen into poverty due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Monaco, Switzerland, the US and Singapore round out the world’s Four Countries with the richest 1%.

In New Zealand, the fifth-ranked country, you have to have a net worth of $2.8 million (Ksh307 million) to meet the cut. Others are Hong Kong ($2.8 million; Ksh307 million), Australia ($2.8 million; Ksh307 million), Ireland ($2.6 million; Ksh285 million), France ($2.1 million; Ksh231 million), Germany ($2 million; Ksh220 million), the UK ($1.8 million; Ksh198 million), Taiwan and Japan ($1.5 million; Ksh165 million), Spain and Italy ($1.4 million; Ksh154 million), United Arab Emirates ($1.3 million; Ksh143 million), South Korea ($1.2 million; Ksh132 million), China ($850,000; Ksh93 million), Malaysia ($540,000; Ksh59 million) and Russia ($400,000; Ksh44 million).

Meanwhile, the world’s 500 wealthiest people added $1.8 trillion (Ksh197.6 trillion) to their fortunes in 2020, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with U.S.-based technology entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos gaining the most.

The U.S. leads in the number of ultra-rich individuals even as wealth growth has surged recently in Asia-Pacific locations such as China and Hong Kong, according to the report.

The region’s richest billionaires are now worth a combined $2.7 trillion (Ksh296.5 trillion), data compiled by Bloomberg show, or more than triple the amount at the end of 2016.

Asia Pacific is forecast to continue outpacing global growth in ultra-high net-worth individuals from 2020 to 2025, with the number of people with more than $30 million (Ksh3.3 billion) climbing 33% led by India and Indonesia, according to Knight Frank.

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