Bloomberg, a financial software, data, and media company headquartered in New York, reports that an elite group of only 25,000 people worldwide wear made-to-measure Brioni suits, and at a little shop on Nairobi’s Kimathi Street, you can have a Brioni tailor flown in from Italy, take your measurements, fly out, and deliver your suit within weeks.
Yes, a small part of that 25,000-man exclusive club resides in Nairobi, and it is splashing the money around.
Slowly but steadily there’s an emergence of these exclusive shops, restaurants, and pubs in the country points to the growth of Kenya’s super-rich.
For instance at the exclusive Little Red branch on Kimathi Street,a pair of socks for Sh3,000, a leather jacket for Sh599,999, a pair of jeans for Sh112,000, a Brioni shirt for Sh349,000, and a pair of Salvatore Ferragamo shoes for Sh275,000.
So you could be standing next to a man wearing clothes worth Sh1.8 million in the lift — assuming he went for the Sh1.2 million cut, is wearing a Brioni shirt, and the Ferragamo shoes. And that excludes the tie and briefs!
While the average Kenyan will be spending their Christmas holiday with family or friends at their rural home, the moneyed will most likely be flying out of the country to such exotic destinations as Thailand and the sandy beaches of the Mediterranean.
Among their most preferred local holiday destinations is Sir Richard Branson’s Kenyan Safari Camp in the heart of the Masai Mara game reserve, where the rates at peak season could go as high as Sh125,490 per person per night.
At the coast, the Diani area the Almanara resort, where Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho stayed during his visit to Kenya in 2010.
This exclusivity and sophistication extends to wining and dining, and top on this list is the newly-opened Caramel Lounge at the ABC shopping mall along Waiyaki Way.
At Caramel, where Kenya’s moneybags meet, among the most popular liquor brands is the Remy Martin Louis XIII brandy, which retails at Sh41,000 a tot. The entire bottle goes for Sh1.2 million.
Outside the lounge into the central business district, a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label Scotch Whisky, King George V Edition, is going for Sh250,000, while the Zacapa XO is being sold for Sh200,000.
There’s also the rise of armoured cars The vehicles are fitted with 40mm bullet-proof glass, which protects the passengers from standard ammunition, a run-flat tyre system, and a cushioned interior to protect the passengers in case of an accident.
A fully armoured vehicle, as you would expect, does not come cheap, though. Current market prices for an armoured Land Cruiser 100 Series are upwards of Sh12 million, Sh13.5 million for the 200 Series, and Sh14 million for the Range Rover Sport.
Besides cars, the rich also spend a fortune educating their children. At Gems Cambridge International School on the way to Ongata Rongai, it will cost you about Sh22 million to take your child from the foundation stage to Year 13.
That Sh22 million, therefore, does not cover your child’s university education.
For years 12 and 13, the annual fees is Sh1.9 million, tuition taking up Sh1.2 million and boarding fees Sh700,000.
Boarding services are not provided for pupils in Year Two and below — who are about eight years old and below, and who pay Sh882,700 in Year Two and Sh646,100 in Year One.
At Brookhouse School, children in early years pay Sh200,000 a term and those in Year One pay Sh240,000.
Boarders in years two to five, who are probably aged eight to 10 years, pay Sh730,000, while those between years 12 and 13 cough up Sh830,000 for boarders and Sh505,000 for day scholars.
Adapted from DN.
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