Why Kenya’s Wealthy Are Moving Away from Lifestyle Assets and Going Local

Kenya’s High Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs) are refocusing their investment strategies from the traditional lifestyle assets, towards generating revenue and offering higher yields within the country.

In the year 2024, according to Africa Wealth Report, Kenya was home to 7,200 HNWI with 4,400 found in Nairobi.

Even though Knight Frank in its Wealth Report, Kenya Edition – Attitudes Survey 2025 does not mention these HNWI in figures, it confirmed they have dropped by 10%.

Their shift in investment is, however, in response to increasing global economic uncertainty and a slower pace of wealth creation seen in sectors like construction and mining in 2024.

Also, these oligarchs are retreating from residential and foreign assets, which includes a divestment from non-primary residences, such as third and fourth homes. The report shows a sharp decline in the proportion of wealth held in personal homes, dropping from 60% in 2023 to just over 20% in 2024.

According to Bonface Abudho, the leading investment priority identified for HNWIs is data centres, followed by development land, together representing over 28% of first-choice investments in 2025.

Abudho, a research analyst at Knight Frank, says other key areas of interest are farmland, with 83% of investors focusing specifically on food production, as well as hotel and leisure, logistics and industrial, and office spaces.

“This pivot in investment highlights the adaptability of HNWIs and their assessment of the country’s strongest opportunities ahead. With the slowdown in 2024, particularly in sectors that have been key to wealth creation, such as construction and mining, dampening overall wealth creation, there has been a considerably rapid shift in HNWIs’ portfolios and priorities,” said Abudho.

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Similarly, the percentage of HNWIs owning four or more homes fell from 37.5% to 22.2% during the same period.

Foreign homeownership among Kenyan HNWIs also decreased, from 14% at the beginning of 2023 to about 10% in 2024.

Mark Dunford, CEO of Knight Frank Kenya, says that Kenyan returns remain significantly ahead of the global average, making the home market increasingly attractive amidst rising international uncertainty.

Dunford says that almost half (48%) of respondents anticipate a marginal increase in wealth, while 26% expect increases exceeding 10%.

Dunford characterizes this trend as a transition from consumption to conservation, with an increased focus on social and environmental gains.

“In global terms, Kenyan returns remain sharply ahead of the world average, and rising uncertainty in many global markets is only serving to heighten HNWIs’ interest in their home market.”

HNWIs are reallocating capital into productive domestic assets like Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), treasury bonds, and money markets.

There’s also a an increase in direct investments in sectors like technology, agriculture, and renewable energy.

This domestic focus is reinforced by the fact that 66% of HNWIs planning to buy another home this year favour Kenya as their first option, a significant jump from 33% last year.

The Wealth Report reveals that there are currently 135,200 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) with liquid investable wealth of $1 million or more living in the continent, along with 342 centi-millionaires worth $100 million or more-, and 21-dollar billionaires.

Africa’s ‘Big 5’ wealth markets — South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco — together account for 56%  of the continent’s millionaires and over 90% of its billionaires.