“African President Who Helped His Daughter Become Africa’s First Female Billionaire”
Isabel dos Santos was once named the richest woman in Africa, thanks to her father, José Eduardo dos Santos, who served as Angola’s second president from 1979 to 2017. José Eduardo dos Santos helped his daughter gain access to some of Angola’s most lucrative industries, including oil, telecommunications, banking, diamonds and energy.
In 2016, Isabel was appointed head of Sonangol, Angola’s state-owned oil company. However, much of the country’s wealth remained concentrated among the political elite, while millions of ordinary Angolans continued to live in poverty.
Isabel dos Santos also accumulated significant stakes in companies such as Unitel, Angola’s leading telecommunications firm, and banking businesses in Angola and Portugal. Her growing fortune eventually made her Africa’s first female billionaire.
However, things changed in 2017 when her ageing father, José Eduardo dos Santos, resigned and handpicked his loyal Defence Minister, João Lourenço, to succeed him, believing Lourenço would protect his family’s wealth. Instead, upon taking power, Lourenço launched a sweeping anti-corruption crusade. He stripped Isabel dos Santos of her positions, seized her assets and imprisoned the former president’s son, José Filomeno dos Santos, for fraud.
In January 2020, the release of the Luanda Leaks, a massive investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), exposed more than 700,000 documents detailing how Dos Santos and her late husband, Sindika Dokolo, allegedly funnelled more than $1 billion in public funds through a complex web of 400 offshore shell companies spanning 41 countries.
Dos Santos has since faced heavy blows, as Angolan prosecutors have charged her with 12 distinct crimes, including embezzlement, fraud, money laundering and mismanagement. More than $2 billion of her fortune has been frozen or nationalised.
Angolan courts seized her domestic investments, including nationalising her stake in Unitel. International courts followed suit, including a UK High Court ruling issuing a massive £580 million ($733 million) worldwide asset freeze.
Additionally, the United Kingdom government officially designated her as a notorious kleptocrat, freezing her UK assets and imposing travel bans.
An international warrant for her arrest was issued in 2022, making her one of Africa’s most wanted business fugitives.
Dos Santos currently resides in a luxury waterfront apartment in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Because the UAE does not share an active extradition treaty with Angola, it serves as a legal safe haven.