Sandton, Johannesburg's ultra-modern business hub, has been termed Africa's richest square mile.
Located north of the city and stretching across 134 square kilometres, Sandton is one of the most well-known areas in Gauteng Province where some of the world's richest prefer to live, work and play.
The resulting capital flight from central Jozi made Sandton the preferred destination for multinationals. International hotel groups such as Radisson Blu, Hilton, and Holiday Inn also found a home along the town's most famous thoroughfare, Rivonia Road. Financial institutions such as Johannesburg Stock Exchange and Nedbank are headquartered here. The area is also home to Africa'a largest and most modern convention centre on Maude Street. With 220,000 square feet of functional space on four levels, the convention centre hosted the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 in addition to the 2008 Miss World beauty contest. International brands such as Prada, Gucchi and Calvin Klein jostle for space on the continent's largest shopping centre, Sandton City, next to the famous Nelson Mandela Square. Many buildings in Sandton are design masterpieces, having little semblance with their older cousins in the CBD. The iconic Michelangelo Towers that rises 143m into the sky belongs to this category.
Building top notch office space in the area costs anywhere between 24,000 Rands and 27,000 Rands (Sh260,000 and Sh300,000) per square metre. The new 37,000 square metre Alexander Forbes' offices in Sandton, for instance, cost 840 million Rands or Sh9.2 billion.
Residential homes, too, come at a price. While Nairobians will cringe at the thought of coughing up Sh150,000 for a three-bedroom flat in Westlands, a two-bedroom executive apartment in Michelangelo Towers goes for 36,000 Rands or Sh396,000.
The opulent neighbourhood is located just six kilometres from one of South Africa's poorest areas, the Alexandra townships, highlighting the continent's glaring inequalities.
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