Wealth play in South Africa: When being rich starts costing you more
Wealth may buy choices in South Africa, but new debt data shows top earners can still spend more than they earn.
Wealth is supposed to make life easier. In South Africa, but in some cases it can also make the spreadsheet harder to explain.
In fact, some top earners are spending more on repayments than they bring home, making “living within your means” sound like comedy.
New DebtBusters figures show that people earning above R50 000 a month need 103% of their income to service debt.
WEALTH DOESN’T RULE OUT A DEBT PROBLEM
The figures come from DebtBusters’ Q2 2026 Debt Index, released on 18 August. It analyses consumers applying for debt counselling, including their income, debt and credit accounts.
Among those earning above R50 000 monthly, debt repayments now consume 103% of income. Their debt exposure also equals 307% of annual net income.
Unsecured debt in this group has risen 84% since 2021, while cumulative inflation rose 29%.
The obvious question is how anyone manages 103%. The answer is not magic. It means people are using credit, assets, savings or other resources to cover the gap.
At some point, however, even a large salary can start behaving like a small one.
CAN WEALTH MEET THE COST OF LIFE?
DebtBusters says lending to higher-income consumers increased after the Covid-19 pandemic. Lenders saw these borrowers as better prospects for repayment, while lending to lower-income groups had already declined.
That created an odd financial split. People with less income carry less debt, but that does not mean they are better off or can absorb the high cost of living. DebtBusters says lower debt reflects reduced access to credit in some cases.
People earning R10 000 to R20 000 face another squeeze. Almost a third of their disposable income goes towards food, leaving less for insurance, savings and emergencies. Across all applicants, 64% of take-home pay is needed for debt repayments.
THE PRICE OF LOOKING RICH
There is a lesson here for anyone tempted to measure wealth by the car outside the house.
A high income can support a high level of borrowing, but borrowing is not wealth. It is money wearing a suit and asking to be repaid.
The Q2 index says multi-lender borrowing is at its highest level since 2016. Nearly all new debt counselling applicants have a personal loan, while 63% have a one-month payday loan.
There is some hope.
About 14 times more consumers completed debt counselling in Q2 2026 than in the same quarter in 2016. They paid R570 million to creditors while under counselling.
So, does it still pay to be rich?
Yes, probably. It helps to earn more. It just helps less when your repayments are more than you earn.