Why Africa's Richest Woman Lost Her $3.5 Billion & Fell From Grace
Isabel Dos Santos was once Africa's richest woman, before a monumental fall from grace. At one time a beacon of inspiration for others looking to better their own lives, she now serves as cautionary tale for those who don't accept the precarious circumstances of gains that may have come through less-than-stellar means.
The opposite of Drake in that she was once at the top, but now she's here, Dos Santos's story is one that should be followed by anyone who thinks the high life is easy to navigate. In order to do that, though, one needs to know the story of how this former 3.5 Billion Dollar crashed so hard, so fast.
Isabel was on her way from the start as the daughter of Angola’s longtime former president José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled from 1979 to 2017. Her wealth grew by leaps and bounds without many to questions its foundation.
At the time of her assent to financial rule, reporters couldn't get enough of this success story. There were countless articles and accolades documenting her achievements with reports placing over half of her assets in Portuguese companies, which only seemed to add to the mystique of her international credibility. When Forbes touted her billionaire status in 2013, the country elevated her in the public eye and celebrated her status as a sign of hope.
While the wheels had been slowly coming off the public image that she had been displaying, it was really starting to come crashing down when Angola’s new president, João Lourenço, took office in September 2017 following her father's retirement. Lourenço pledged to vanquish the corruption that had plagued the country and, after just two months into his tenure, he dismissed Isabel from her position as the head of state oil firm Sonangol.
From there, the corruption charges started to pile up and, without the security of her family in power, Dos Santos was suddenly on the receiving end of public scrutiny in a way that she had never experienced before.
While most people put under a microscope would falter, Isabel could have been put under a telescope and still faced backlash. Her dealings, especially when linked to Angola's political elite were, at best, done on an uneven playing field.
Leaked documents (referred to as the Luanda Leaks) called many of her business ventures into question and, as Andrew Feinstein, the head of Corruption Watch, told The BBC, they show that she was exploiting her country and profiting at the expense of its citizens.
"Every time she appears on the cover of some glossy magazine somewhere in the world, every time that she hosts one of her glamorous parties in the south of France, she is doing so by trampling on the aspirations of the citizens of Angola," he said.
One of the her most suspect deals came through oil company Sonangol, the 2016 position she was removed from by the new administration.
The leak provided a paper trail which pointed to an approval of $58 million worth of suspicious payouts to a Dubai company called Matter Business Solutions through the Sonagol name. While Dos Santos claims to have no financial interest in that institution, the documents show that it as, in fact, being run by her business manager and owned by a friend.
The ball started rolling at a court in Angola as they were the first to freeze assets belonging to Dos Santos and her husband. From there, Portugal began pushing forward in attempts to recover assets once owned by the former Angola Princess.
She is also being looked into over in the United Kingdom where Unitel, the Angolan mobile phone provider she had one quarter ownership of, sued her in London during 2020. They claim her company, Unitel International Holdings BV, had defaulted on a number of loans issued dating back 2012. They are seeking $430 million.
In total, the international funds being nationalized or frozen come to over $1.5 billion, with little likelihood of her recovering them over time.. As a result, Forbes dropped Dos Santos, who was ranked with an estimated $2.2 billion in January 2020, from their new 2021 list of Africa’s richest people.
There are always multiple sides to multiple stories and Dos Santos herself denies the charges, calling them "very concentrated, orchestrated and well-coordinated political attack, ahead of elections in Angola next year".
In a statement to the BBC, she added, "It is an attempt to neutralize me and to discredit the legacy of President dos Santos and his family. No-one should be taken in by these diversionary tactics."
The leaked documents may be real, but she says that they were leaked "selectively" to "give a false impression of my business activities". It's all in the context and, Isabel believes, they are purposely being presented in a way that eliminates that context.
"I am a private businesswoman who has spent 20 years building successful companies from the ground up, creating over 20,000 jobs and generating huge tax revenue for Angola."
Even now, as she attempts to reclaim her good name and prove her innocence, Isabel Dos Santos represents one of the most sudden and shocking falls from the top in recent memory. Angola's success story of 2013 is starting the new decade off in a very different position.
Sources: BBC, Forbes, Financial Times
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