Joburg has lost much of its cachet among the well-heeled — and before the decade is out, it may lose its title as Africa’s wealthiest city too. It had 22% fewer dollar millionaires in June than a decade earlier. Cape Town, meanwhile, grew its high net worth population by 35% over the same period.
With 9,700 millionaires against Joburg’s 11,500, the Mother City is on track to take the title by 2030, according to the Africa Wealth Report 2026, compiled by market research firm New World Wealth. The firm counts as a millionaire anyone with at least $1m in liquid assets, excluding property and private businesses.
The chase for trophy homes is extending beyond the familiar coastal favourites, New World Wealth says. It tips eco-estates as the next growth market, with properties near White River, Dullstroom and Gqeberha among its five African estates to watch.
Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth, which tracks the movement and spending habits of the world’s super-rich, expects “lifestyle destinations” with strong outdoor, wellness and leisure appeal to continue to lure wealthy buyers.
That’s true everywhere: the Rivière Noire (Black River) district of Mauritius and Marrakech in Morocco recorded growth of 120% and 82% respectively in their millionaire populations since 2016.
Closer to home, several of South Africa’s favourite holiday destinations have added millionaires while Joburg has shed them. The Cape Winelands, with coveted addresses in Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and Paarl, has 4,300 millionaires after growth of 55% over the past decade. In KwaZulu-Natal, Umhlanga and Ballito have 4,100; the Garden Route, including Plettenberg Bay, has 3,400; and the Whale Coast, including Hermanus, has 2,100.
Amoils says the Whale Coast in the Overberg is the country’s fastest-growing region for high net worth buying, particularly among retirees and those looking for trophy holiday homes. The area, where the number of millionaire residents has grown 63% in the past decade, stretches roughly from Betty’s Bay to Gansbaai.
Hermanus’s appeal to the deep-pocketed is evident in the record R105m achieved this year for the late Markus Jooste’s historic Voëlklip homestead. Paul Kruger, licensee for Seeff Hermanus, who sold the disgraced Steinhoff CEO’s property to a South African investor consortium, says the deal set a new benchmark for Hermanus property prices.
While price tags of R20m-plus are no longer unusual in the old-money coastal enclave’s other prime areas of Kwaaiwater, Eastcliff and Fernkloof Estate, Kruger says this is the first time a residential property has changed hands in Hermanus for more than R40m.
The house has a pedigree to match its price. The Cape Vernacular-style manor was previously associated with the Ruperts, the family behind luxury goods group Richemont and investment holding company Remgro, who are regarded as South Africa’s wealthiest family. The home, with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms, spans more than 2,000m² and sits on two adjacent plots totalling more than 7,000m².
Clifton, Bantry Bay and Camps Bay in Cape Town, along with Hermanus, remain coveted addresses.
Amoils reckons the appeal of eco-estates lies in the indigenous wilderness areas, birdlife and biodiversity they typically offer, as well as their “green” design and architectural practices.
One of New World Wealth’s five picks is Likweti Bushveld Farm Estate near White River, close to the Kruger National Park, where martial and crowned eagles have been spotted.
In Dullstroom, Walkersons Private Estate offers a stretch of the Lunsklip River with 20 weirs and several dams for fly-fishing. Royalston Coastal Wildlife Estate, just outside Gqeberha, is the third local contender.
Vipingo Ridge, on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast near Mombasa, and Finkenstein Estate near Windhoek round out the top five. Vipingo Ridge combines a golf course with abundant birdlife, including palm-nut vultures and carmine bee-eaters. Finkenstein borders the Moltkeblick Game Farm, with indigenous vegetation and rugged terrain.
New World Wealth expects this kind of estate to become a fixture in rich Africans’ property portfolios. It estimates that by 2050 more than 60% of Africa’s centi-millionaire population — those with liquid assets of $100m or more — will either live in or own second homes at eco-estates.
