The world's richest people are abandoning London, Rome, and Paris for an unexpected destination
- Cities like London, Rome, and Paris have always attracted rich people in search of a pied-À-terre.
- But Kenya, famous for its African safari, is one of the most popular second-home destinations for rich Africans.
- Increasingly, wealthy buyers from places like the UK, America, and Italy, are looking to buy vacation property in Kenya.
Kenya is often recognized as one of the best and most beautiful travel destinations for African safari in the world.
Kenya's 19 game reserves and vast Indian Ocean coastline drew more than 1.4 million tourists to the country last year, many of whom were visiting from other parts of Africa.
But some of the wealthiest tourists aren't just one-time visitors; they're actually buying property there, according to a new report from Knight Frank, a London-based real estate consultant.
Kenya is among the top-five most popular second home locations for the wealthiest people in Africa. While the market for beachfront vacation homes is, at present, dominated by rich families from Nairobi, about 4% of the global high-net-worth population has interest in owning a home in Kenya, according to Knight Frank research.
Brits represent the largest group of potential buyers interested in Kenyan property, followed by 16% of wealthy South Africans, and 11% of Spanish, Mauritian, and Americans.
Below, take a look at what is drawing the world's wealthiest people to Kenya.