Cape Town is taking Joburg’s crown

Johannesburg remains the wealthiest city in Africa, with it retaining its status as the continent’s economic hub, and is home to 11,700 dollar millionaires. 

However, Cape Town is closing in on the top spot quickly, as it has 8,500 dollar millionaires and more centi-millionaires and billionaires than Johannesburg. 

In terms of growth in the number of millionaires, the contrast could not be starker. Cape Town has seen its number grow by 33%, while Johannesburg’s has declined by 35%. 

This was revealed by Henley & Partners in its Africa Wealth Report 2025, which tracks where the continent’s richest individuals live. 

The report showed that good governance and service delivery are as important for wealthy individuals as they are for anyone else. 

These individuals have been among the thousands engaging in semigration within South Africa, which is dominated by the movement of individuals from the country’s northern interior towards the coast, particularly the Western Cape. 

Henley & Partners’ report showed that the number of millionaires in Johannesburg and Pretoria has declined over the past decade. 

Johannesburg, the historical centre of wealth in Africa, has seen its number of millionaires decline by 35% in ten years. Pretoria’s decline is much slower at 2%. 

The ‘City of Gold’ is the home of the bulk of the companies listed in the JSE Top 40. Much of its wealth is located in the Sandton area, which is seen as the richest square mile in Africa. 

There are also large numbers of high-net-worth individuals living on lifestyle estates in the up-and-coming Waterfall–Midrand area on the outskirts of greater Johannesburg, and estates such as Steyn City, Blue Hills, and Saddlebrook.

In contrast, Cape Town, the Winelands region and the Garden Route are booming, with the continent’s wealthiest attracted to the more relaxed lifestyle and better governance. 

Cape Town’s millionaire population has skyrocketed by 33% in the past decade, despite South Africa’s economic stagnation. 

The city also now has more centi-millionaires, individuals with over $100 million, and billionaires than Johannesburg and Pretoria combined. 

Henley & Partners said Cape Town has shown impressive wealth growth over the past decade and is on track to overtake Johannesburg to become Africa’s wealthiest city by 2030. 

The Cape Winelands region has also seen strong growth, with its millionaire population growing by 42% in the past ten years. It is also home to three billionaires. 

This has been largely driven by the semigration of retirees to the area, which includes Paarl, Franschhoek, and Stellenbosch. 

Off a much lower base, the Garden Route has also proven to be a hub for rich South Africans, with it being home to 3,200 millionaires – up by 30% in the past decade. 

This scenic coastal stretch runs from Mossel Bay in South Africa’s Western Cape to Storms River in the Eastern Cape. 

Notable towns on the route include Plettenberg Bay, George, Knysna, Wilderness, and Mossel Bay, as well as smaller up-and-coming hotspots such as Nature’s Valley and Keurboomstrand. 

Beachy Head Drive in Plettenberg Bay is particularly affluent and has a strong claim to being crowned “Africa’s Millionaire Row”.

The table below shows the top ten wealthiest cities in Africa according to the number of millionaires inhabiting them.