Egypt home to 490 'ultra-rich' individuals

[DJKeefy]

Egypt boasts 490 "super-rich" individuals with a total net worth of $65 billion, putting the country in second place in Africa in terms of ultra-rich people, according to a report by Wealth-X published on Monday.

Singapore-based Wealth-X is a global due-diligence firm devoted to ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals, prospecting and intelligence.

Egypt’s position remained unchanged from last year's ranking, despite the political uncertainty witnessed in the wake of the 2011 "Arab Spring" uprisings.

South Africa topped the list with 785 wealthy persons, worth a combined $100 billion.

There are 2,535 UHNW individuals in Africa, with a total net worth of $329 billion, according to the report. Africa saw a 5.1 per cent increase in ultra-wealthy people, Wealth-X found, while the country's overall combined wealth fell by 0.7 per cent for the year.

In another list that excluded African countries, Saudi Arabia came in first in the Middle East region – unsurprisingly – with 1,265 super-rich nationals collectively worth some $230 billion.

Saudi was trailed by the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Israel and Qatar respectively.

Notably, Israel boasts the same net wealth as Egypt – $65 billion – but in Israel this is shared between 300 super-rich individuals.

There are a total of 4,595 UHNW individuals in the Middle East, with a total net worth of $710 billion. According to the report, the Middle East saw a 2.2 per cent increase in its ultra-wealthy population over the course of last year.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/53307.aspx