This is where the super-wealthy holiday

Luxury game lodges in Mpumalanga, a five-star Durban seaside hotel and the famous Blue Train are where some of the world’s super-wealthy — those with $100m (about R1.7bn) or more in assets — love to rest their feet.

This is according to global residence and citizenship planning firm Henley & Partners, which teamed up with SA-based wealth intelligence group New World Wealth to review the top holiday destinations for centi-millionaires.

According to Henley & Partners’ 2022 centi-millionaire report, such an individual is typically the founder of a successful company or the CEO of a large multinational organisation.

At June 2022, the report states, there were 25,490 centi-millionaires, with 38% living in the US, “so these individuals belong to a highly elite league”.

“Many centi-millionaires have private jets and superyachts. Their assets and finances are normally managed by private family offices, and they traditionally have three or more homes they move between throughout the year.”

Dr Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, said the $100m-plus band “represents the best definition in today’s world of what it means to be ‘super-wealthy’”.

New World Wealth’s Andrew Amoils said “in a large number of emerging market countries there are few billionaires, which makes the billionaire wealth band largely irrelevant.

“However, these same countries often have large numbers of centi-millionaires. Kenya has no billionaires, but has 14 centi-millionaires. SA has only five billionaires, but has 92 centi-millionaires.”

Amoils said the centi-millionaire wealth band is a more accurate reflection of the “super-wealthy” community.

Henley & Partners and New World Wealth examined the top holiday destinations and hotels frequented by centi-millionaires.

“We have been tracking the movements and spending habits of the world’s wealthiest people for over seven years,” said Amoils.

Based on this research, the top holiday destinations over this period (2015-2023) include:

• The Hamptons and Florida in US, especially Palm Beach and Miami Beach;
• The French Riviera;
• The Italian Riviera; and
• Wildlife safaris in Africa, especially top-end luxury lodges in Sabi Sands, Mpumalanga, as well the Serengeti in northern Tanzania, the Maasai Mara in Kenya, and the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana.

The five-star Oyster Box in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal — owned by the Red Carnation Group — features among the hotels of choice for centi-millionaires. Others include:

• The Bellagio in Las Vegas;
• The Plaza in New York;
• Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles;
• Claridge’s in London; and
• Villa d’Este in Lake Como, Italy.

Rovos Rail’s Blue Train is on the list of popular luxury trains for the uber wealthy, while two Mpumalanga safari lodges, Singita Ebony Lodge and Londolozi, are among their favourite safari destinations.

“The most popular hotel groups for centi-millionaires globally include: the Oetker Collection, Belmond, Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, One&Only, Singita, Raffles and Red Carnation.”

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