Reading Time: 2 minutes

Rich South Africans

You may not think of South Africa as being a country of rich people but around 84 000 South Africans are part of the top 1% of the world’s wealthiest people. The proverbial 1%.

Millionaires

A Million Dollars is a lot of money especially in Rand where the exchange rate is around R11/ Dollar at the moment. So, being a millionaire is a big deal. Currently, around 40% of the world’s $ Millionaires live in the USA. Did you know that there are 58 000 South Africans who are US Dollar millionaires?

In a recent report by Credit Suisse, it was estimated that 1.5 million South Africans (out of our +- 56 Million people) are part of the world’s top 10% of earners.

This is significant in view of the fact that, recently, the ‘average’ South African has been earning relatively less and less (valued against the GDP/ capita) in the face of rising inflation.  Costs are high in South Africa, with Cape Town being the 3rd most expensive city to buy property in worldwide. On average someone in South Africa takes home R223.55 each day. This figure is sadly skewed by all the high-end earners making the reality much lower.

Inflation

Over the last year, some items got a lot more expensive compared to others (and compared to average inflation). Things like meat which has been climbing in price has gone up dramatically in the face of the countrywide drought. Medical aid also went up on average around 10% while funeral services shot up by 12% (based on research by Stats SA). SA is still one of the most expensive countries to by petrol in and internet and data charges remain extremely high compared to every other country in the world. It is said that South Africans spend ‘on average’ 3.23% of their annual earnings on petrol (which is the second worst in the world, with Mexico being the only place where people spend a higher percentage of earnings on petrol).

It seems however that the South African rich can bear the cost. it is just the ‘average‘ man on the street who is struggling to keep up.

 

 

 

If you are struggling to make ends meet at home and still honour your debt obligations then talk to an NCR registered Debt Counsellor about taking advantage of relief measures built into South African law, like debt review.