Kenya: Number of Wealthy Young Kenyans Above Global Average

Nairobi — The level of young wealthy Kenyans is higher at 27 percent above the global average of 22 percent, Knight Frank’s 2022 attitudes survey has revealed naming bitcoin technology among the leading creators of such wealth.

According to Knight Frank Kenya MD Ben Woodhams, many young ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI) below the age of 40 years are generating their own wealth in areas such as blockchain technology, metaverse among other emerging technology.

UHNWI are individuals with net assets worth more than USD30million.

The survey issued with Knight Frank’s annual Wealth Report was conducted in October and November 2021 among 600 private bankers, wealth advisors, intermediaries, and family offices who manage over USD 3.5 trillion of wealth for ultra-high net worth (UHNWI) clients.

“For the first time As part of our attitude survey, we asked respondents about young wealth, to find out how many individuals under 40 years old created their own wealth, the level is higher than the global average, this shows that young entrepreneurs in Kenya are well placed to take advantage of such opportunities,” he said during the release of the report.

Overall, the survey revealed that Kenya’s High Net Worth (HNW) individuals rose to 3,232 in 2021 and are projected to rise by a further 27 percent to 4,274 in five years.

HNW individuals are those whose net assets surpass USD 1 million.

Woodhams noted that the rise of high net worth individuals was informed by increased entrepreneurship among Kenyan wealth creators and individuals who remained resilient during the pandemic.

The number of ultra-high net worth individuals has however dropped by two percent, a figure he said should not be alarming but instead highlights resilience by entrepreneurs in Kenya.

The report further noted that the majority of Kenya’s wealthy are planning new nationalities as part of their investment activities, with just over a quarter of Kenya’s 3,362 dollar millionaires now planning to apply for a second passport or new nationality aimed at providing greater investment, education and healthcare access.

“This rising trend of ‘nationality planning’ from our own wealthy is highly focussed as a route to best-in-class investments, education, and healthcare, with property investments making up a significant component of that investment,” Woodhams said.