What Kenya’s rich splurged on in 2016

The new Jaguar F-Pace launched by RMA Motors and a bottle of Hennessey Paradis. PHOTOS | FILE  

By Annie Njanja

In Summary

• A South African-based research firm says there are currently 8,500 dollar millionaires in Kenya and most of them are not shy about flashing their cash.

The super-rich never shy away from splurging when the occasion calls for it.  They are keen to pamper themselves with luxury living and pay record-breaking prices for everything— from cars, fine wine and art to private planes.

A South African-based research firm says there are currently 8,500 dollar millionaires in Kenya and most of them are not shy about flashing their cash.

Here are some of Kenya’s most expensive purchases of 2016.
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Forget the news that the luxury car market is shrinking because this rarely affects the deep-pocketed. A new luxurious automobile in the market only serves to whet their appetite for super cars.

F-Pace

The year 2016 saw the launch of the first Jaguar sports utility vehicle (SUV) dubbed the F-Pace in Kenya. The first SUV from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) with options of two and three-litre diesel engines and a three-litre petrol engine was sold at between Sh8 million and Sh14 million.

Bentley Bentayga

The 2016 Bentley Bentayga, pre-ordered by a Kenyan, cost Sh30 million and is also well within the reach of this high-spending class. There are also a few 2016 Range Rover SV Autobiography models estimated at Sh60 million on the Kenyan roads.

Mercedes Maybach

Mercedes Maybach 2016 model is a luxurious car estimated to cost about Sh40 million. There are two latest models of Maybach that have so far been spotted in Nairobi. The car has a top speed of 250 kilometres per hour and can hit 100 kilometres per hour under five seconds.

The owners of the luxurious cars may not have had speed in mind when making the purchases, but the car’s latest technology and sophistication.

Sh 1 million customised number plate

Owning luxurious cars is not enough for the crème del a crème of the society. And so the rich in Kenya stopped at nothing in their quest to boost self-image in 2016. A prestigious licence-plate number, a mark of distinction, was a must have for the lucky few

Flamboyant lawyer Donald Kipkorir and business magnate Chris Kirubi took personal branding a notch higher by getting privatised numbers on their automobiles for Sh1 million; an amount a struggling middle class family would use to purchase a second hand car from Japan.

Wadi Delga membership

Wadi Degla is the latest sporting club to enter the country, stepping up competition among old country private members clubs.

The club is on membership basis where a family of four is expected to make a one-off payment of Sh1.2 million and thereafter the principal member is expected to pay an annual fee of Sh60,000 to access their facilities.

Co-members are also expected to part with Sh20,000. A single membership fee is Sh950,000, with an additional Sh60,000 annual fee.

This gives members free access to various sporting activities and should a child enrol in any of the five sporting academies, which include Arsenal Soccer School, the co-member is expected to part with an additional Sh40,000 and Sh75,000 depending on the sport.

Ol Jogi

The wealthy spend millions on holidays around famous game reserves like the Masai Mara and other exotic places around the globe. Kenya boasts one of the most expensive and luxurious holiday destinations in the world.

According to the estimates and information available to the Business Daily, the Ol Jogi, a private ranch on Laikipia Plateau is 2016’s most expensive holiday package found locally; costing more than Sh3 million per night to host 14 individuals, with five nights’ minimum stay.

Premium liquors

These high spenders also went all out to quench their thirst by acquiring the most expensive drinks that money could buy. Top on the list of these premium liquors available locally is Remy Martin Louis X111, followed by Hennessey Paradis and Johnnie Walker & Sons Odyssey.

Remy Martin Louis X111, a legendary cognac from the prestigious house of Remy Martin, comes in a 750ml bottle at a cost of Sh750,000.

It contains Grande Champagne eaux-de-vie aged between 40 and 100 years and is packaged in a gorgeous Baccarat decanter.

The 750ml bottles of Hennessy and Odyssey cost Sh500,000 and Sh150,000 respectively.

ANjanja@ke.nationmedia.com