This article discusses the evolution of Kenya's wealth distribution from the late 1950s to the present. Utilizing previously untapped probate and administration sources, it measures the share of Kenyans leaving estates at death, and maps how this wealth-owning strata has changed over time. It shows a growth in African estates after independence, and by the 1980s roughly 8 % of Kenyans left estates at death, largely a consequence of land titling and land reform. Meanwhile, European estates dwindled as settlers divested. Since the 1990s, Nairobi-based estate-holders are growing in share, reflecting the importance of urban property to the portfolios of the wealthy. Measures of top wealth shares suggest high wealth inequality in both the late colonial period and the present, but today's wealth inequality is driven by the uneven distribution of housing wealth, more so than by agricultural land. These findings illustrate how a variety of colonial legacies influenced wealth accumulation in postcolonial Kenya.

中文翻译：

---

肯尼亚的殖民遗留问题和财富不平等


本文讨论了肯尼亚财富分配从 1950 年代后期到现在的演变。它利用以前未开发的遗嘱认证和管理资源，衡量了肯尼亚人在去世时留下遗产的比例，并绘制了这个拥有财富的阶层如何随着时间的推移而变化。它显示独立后非洲庄园的增长，到 1980 年代，大约 8% 的肯尼亚人在去世时离开了庄园，这主要是土地所有权和土地改革的结果。与此同时，随着定居者的撤资，欧洲的庄园逐渐减少。自 1990 年代以来，内罗毕的房地产所有者的份额不断增长，这反映了城市房产对富人投资组合的重要性。最高财富份额的衡量标准表明，殖民时期晚期和现在都存在高度的财富不平等，但今天的财富不平等是由住房财富分配不均驱动的，而不是由农业用地驱动的。这些发现说明了各种殖民遗产如何影响后殖民肯尼亚的财富积累。