The richest woman in Africa, Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of former president of Angola Jose Eduardo dos Santos, has a $ 13 million home in London's most exclusive and high-priced property. Isabel plans to remove the building to set up a new house.
Isabel obtained permission to remove the building and build another four-storey building with an underground swimming pool. Isabel, 46, plans to create a sauna bath, massage room and other facilities at this house in Kensington, west London, but these plans have angered her wealthy neighbors, with one claiming that Isabel's plans will irritate her neighbors.
The disclosure that Isabel owns such a luxury home should worry some parties about the source of her wealth. Although she presents herself as a self-made businesswoman, her opponents have described her as the beneficiary of Africa's ruling regimes.
Isabel managed to accumulate most of her fortune, about $ 2 billion, while her father, Jose Eduardo, 76, was governor of Angola for 38 years. Critics say his daughter gained wealth by exploiting family power to acquire shares in companies doing business in Angola, where many people live in poverty.
Angola, with a population of about 18 million, is located on the southern coast of Africa and is rich in diamonds and oil. The country was plagued by a 27-year civil war that ended in 2002, leading to a dramatic rise in oil revenues from three billion in 2002 to $ 66 billion in 2008. Transparency International, which investigates government corruption, says it has ranked Angola 165th. On the corruption index within 180 countries.
Isabel studied engineering at King's College in London, before opening her first company at the age of 24, a restaurant called Miami Beach, amid rumors that she invested in real estate in London, where information now reveals how she bought a home. Kensington for £ 8.65 million in 2007.
The price of the property was paid by an unknown company, based on Human Island, which is considered one of the tax heaven.
Despite presenting herself as a self-made businesswoman, her opponents described her as the beneficiary of Africa's ruling regimes.
Isabel studied engineering at King's College in London before opening her first company at the age of 24, a restaurant called Miami Beach.