ROB ROSE: Why SA’s ultra rich are heading for the exits
New survey suggests that SA’s wealthiest are becoming an increasingly rare species — with dire implications for the country’s slim tax base
If indeed SA’s wealthiest individuals are fleeing the country, as the new Knight Frank wealth report suggests, this could have a worryingly disproportionate impact on the country’s tax base. It’s unclear to what extent this report — which tries to calculate the population of super rich people across the world based on responses from 600 private bankers, wealth advisers and family offices in 50 countries — accurately reflects reality.
Let’s hope not very much, since the report calculates that the number of "ultra high net worth individuals" in SA with more than $30m dropped from 603 to 561 last year. This is a 7% drop — pretty much the reverse of the global average, which showed a 7.8% rise in the number of people in this group...
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