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See what super-rich in Africa like to drive, wear, drink

Cape Town - Porsche is the luxury car brand earning the most revenue in Africa thanks to sales to the super-rich on the continent, according to a report by AfrAsia Bank and New World Wealth.

It is followed by the revenue earned by Ferrari, Bentley, Rolls Royce and Maserati. For the purposes of the report, what it calls semi-luxury cars - such as Mercedes, Land Rover and Jaguar - were excluded.

In South Africa especially, the survey found popular luxury sports cars among the super-rich include the Rolls-Royce Phantom, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, the Rolls Royce Ghost and the Ferrari 458 Italia.

In terms of the survey, these high net worth individuals (HNWIs) - also known as “millionaires” - refer to individuals with wealth of $1m (about R13.3m) or more.

READ: Top 20 super luxury apartments in SA - report

"Multi-millionaires" refer to individuals with wealth of $10m (about R132m) or more, while “wealth” in terms of the report, refers to the net assets of a person. That would include all their assets - including property, cash, equity and business interests - less any liabilities.

The African luxury sector generated $5.9bn (about R78.47bn) in sales in 2016, according to the report. The luxury industry includes luxury cars, personal luxury goods - for instance luxury watches, clothing, accessories and jewellery. It also includes yachts, private jets and luxury lodges.

South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Angola all experienced drops in luxury sales in 2016, while luxury sales in Kenya were up, according to the report.

SUVs

The survey found that luxury SUVs (suburban utility vehicle) are especially popular with Africa's super-rich. Reasons for their popularity include high road clearance as SUVs handle potholes and bad roads better than luxury sedans and sports cars; safety aspects; space for children and being "useful" for holidays.

In 2016 the popular SUVs for HNWIs in Africa were Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Range Rover 5.0L V8, BMWX6 and Mercedes GLE Coupe.

Dress code and drinks

African HNWIs are increasingly buying luxury liquor products such as Cognac and Single Malt Whisky, according to the report. Popular drinks for HNWIs in Africa include Johnnie Walker Blue Label Whisky, Dom Perignon Champagne, Hennessy Cognac and Glenmorangie Whisky.

Moet & Chandon Champagne; Veuve Clicquot Champagne; Johnnie Walker Black Label Whisky; Jameson Whisky and Jack Daniels are the other most popular luxury brands among Africa's HNWIs.

The report found that among items commonly found in the wardrobe of an African HNWI, the most expensive in 2016 was a Patek Philippe watch for women, followed by a Breguet watch for men, a Vacheron Constantin watch for men, a Ulysse Nardin watch for men, a Franck Muller watch for men and a Rolex watch for women.

The most expensive popular handbag was a Louis Vuitton handbag, followed by Prada, Gucci and Burberry.

A Dolce & Gabbana dress was the most expensive popular dress among HNWI women and for shoes Christian Louboutin is the most expensive popular brand, followed by Jimmy Choo, Prada and Gucci.

For men the most expensive popular suit among HNWIs was Zegna, followed by Canali, Georgio Armani and Paul Smith. The most expensive popular shoes among the HNWI men in 2016 were Ferragamo, followed by Paul Smith.

The most expensive popular sunglasses HNWIs in Africa used in 2016 were Gucci, followed by Prada for women and Ray-Ban for men.

Last but not least, in South Africa 160 multi-millionaires (in dollar terms) have their own private jets and 420 use private jets. In Nigeria 90 multi-millionaires have their own private jets, while 310 use private jets.

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