Standard Bank Wealth and Investment published a report, The Psyche of Africa's Wealthiest, on June 4 on how Africa's wealthiest individuals had accumulated and transmitted wealth, and Jacques Els, head of wealth and investment at Standard Bank, discussed the findings with Moneyweb.
REPORT FOCUS AND OBSERVATIONS
The report, based on interviews with wealthy Africans and their wealth managers, found that most were first-generation wealth creators rather than heirs, and grouped them into three archetypes: the entrepreneur, the corporate grafter and the legacy steward. In his discussion, Els spoke about the rise of first-generation wealth on the continent and the three archetypes driving wealth creation in Africa.
The report shifts the focus from wealth rankings and investment figures to the mindset behind how Africa's wealthiest build and manage their fortunes.
According to the report, the entrepreneur treats capital as fuel and speed as advantage; the corporate grafter converts structured income into durable portfolios, prioritising stability over spectacle; and the legacy steward manages wealth as a multigenerational endowment, with governance at its core.
CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND
The report said Africa's wealthy "are less concerned with the optics of affluence than with the mechanics of control", and that across regions and sectors wealth is viewed as "a tool of navigation".
On succession, the report described the family office as a way of "turning ownership into stewardship", with the aim of passing on both assets and "the discipline and values that created those assets in the first place".
Sources: Moneyweb SA