The latest Knight Frank Wealth Report 2024 shows that South Africa has lost 11 ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the last year while thousands more millionaires have been lost over the last decade.

The 2024 instalment of the report is based on responses provided during December 2023 by more than 600 private bankers, wealth advisors, intermediaries and family offices who, between them, manage over $3 trillion (R57 trillion) of wealth for Ultra-high-net-worth individual (UHNWI) clients.

An ultra-high-net-worth individual is defined by Knight Frank as someone with a net worth of $30 million (approx. R570 million) or more.

According to the report, the number of UHNWIs globally rose 4.2% to 626,619 from 601,300 a year earlier, more than reversing the declines seen in 2022.

At a regional level, wealth creation was led by North America (+7.2%) and the Middle East (+6.2%), with Latin America being the only region to see its population of wealthy individuals decline.

Compared to 2022, Africa realised a 3.8% rise in the number of super-rich people, recording 2,996 UHNWIs in 2023 in contrast to the 2,886 noted in the previous year.

South Africa’s super-rich

Despite the global increase in the number of super-wealthy people, South Africa is one of only two countries that recorded a decline in UHNWIs out of 30 nations tracked by Knight Frank.

South Africa recorded 835 UHNWIs in 2023 compared to 846 in 2022, representing a decline of 1.3%.

Although Taiwan was the second country to see a drop in its super-rich population, South Africa saw the steepest decline as Taiwan recorded a smaller 0.3% drop in UHNWIs from 7,666 in 2022 to 7,640 in 2023.

This downward trend of wealthy individuals in South Africa was also recorded in the latest BRICS Wealth Report for 2023, which showed South Africa has lost thousands of millionaires over the last ten years ranking near the bottom of the top BRICS+ countries assessed.

The report highlighted that South Africa was home to 37,400 US dollar millionaires (including 102 centi-millionaires and five billionaires) at the end of

2023 a 20% decline from 2013.

Dollar millionaires are defined as individuals with investable assets of over $1 million (approx. R19 million), while centi-millionaires or ‘centis’ are individuals with more than $100 million (approx. R1.9 billion) in investable assets.

This means South Africa has lost approximately 9,350 US-dollar millionaires over the past ten years.

Positive outlook

Despite the loss of wealth in South Africa after the past year and beyond, the picture improves when looking to the decade ahead.

In terms of private wealth growth projections, South Africa is expected to see a 60% increase in wealth per capita by 2033.

This optimism extends to UHNWIs in South Africa, with the Knight Frank Wealth Report 2024 noting an increase in South Africa’s super-wealthy population, which is expected to grow by 19.5% by 2028.

The reports don’t outline why or how South Africa is losing its super-wealthy; this could be explained either through emigration or through local wealth destruction via a poor-performing economy and weaker rand vs dollar valuations (i.e., someone may still be considered super wealthy in rand terms, but not in the dollar terms, as tracked by the report).

The latest New World Wealth report points towards emigration as one of the more significant factors, however.

According to the report, while the exit of HNWIs is driven by various factors social, political and economic the rich typically try to move to a “safe haven country”.

A “safe haven country” is a country with good safety and security that is shielded from the world’s economic and political problems.

In South Africa, over the course of 2023, key concerns over personal security and safety, including rising rates of crime and violence, as well as worries about education and healthcare, peaked which are foundational considerations for high net-worth families. V.5211

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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