The Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index (KFLII), which tracks the value of 10 investments of passion, grew by a 16 percent last year.
From cars, premium alcohol, jewellery, footwear, expensive dinnerware and exclusive trips, high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are literally chopping their money as they acquire the finest things and experiences life has to offer.
The rich revved up their appetite for posh cars last year with the performance rising 25 percent, the strongest finish in nine years.
“With the provenance of a high-profile collector attached, blue-chip works routinely break auction records and last year was no exception with five achieving over US$100 million (Sh12.8 billion),” reads the report.
A US$143 million (Sh18.2billion) Mercedes-Benz set a new record for the most expensive car ever sold.
The report notes that high-end collectors are back in the market after the Covid-19 pandemic saw the postponement of many sales.
Appetite for expensive watches also features prominently in the spending b the wealthy growing by 18 percent.
“The watch market at the top three auction houses grew 33 percent in 2022 to a total of £475 million (Sh64.3 billion), this included 40 watches that sold for over £1 million (Sh135 million), 12 more than the previous year.”
The market is however being led by a small number of models.
Knight Frank Kenya CEO Mark Dunford, said Kenya is yet record a high uptake of premium watches.
"Over the years Kenya has not been high demand for premium watches, may be it’s the reason we don't keep time," Dunford said on a light note.
On premium alcohol, uptake of expensive wine recorded a 10 percent growth in 2022 a drop from the 16 percent growth that was recorded in 2021.
Whisky, although still KFLII’s 10-year leader by a good margin (+373 percent), was one of 2022’s weakest performers with growth of just three percent.
In 2021 the report ranked Kenya the second-largest luxury market in Africa after South Africa.
The ranking put Nairobi on the same footing as Johannesburg, Cape Town and Lagos that lead in the uptake of luxury.
