Isabel dos Santos
Encyclopedia
Isabel José dos Santos is an Angola
n investor. She is considered by Forbes
worth at least 50 million US Dollars and as the most powerful and richest woman in her country and among the richest in Africa
.
and Tatiana Kukanova from Azerbaijan
, his first wife. In London
, where her mother now lives, she studied electrical engineering
and business management. There she met her husband from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
, Sindika Dokolo
, the son of a millionaire from Kinshasa
and his Danish
wife. They married in 2003, in Luanda
. The wedding, a 4 million-dollar party with 1000 guests, was one of the largest weddings in the history of the country. Reports in Portuguese newspapers said, that the guest were flown in from France and Portugal. Best man was the then Minister of Petroleum of Angola, Desidério Costa
.
At the age of 24, she joined the business and since then cleverly uses the influence of her father. She started in the capital Luanda
, where - financially backed by her father - she founded Urbana 2000, a company that won the contract for cleaning and disinfection of the city. On Luanda Island
, that is part of the bay of Luanda, she opened in 2006 the Miami Beach Club, one of the first night clubs in the capital. Later she worked for Ascorp, the only legal trading company for diamonds in Angola. There she was a partner with Lev Leviev
.
Within short she assumed the key role in managing the family fortune amassed by her father. This led her to create several holdings, in Angola and abroad, and to make substantial investments in a series of entreprises, especially in Portugal.
, retail
, finance
and the energy industry
, both in Angola and in Portugal
. In addition to her commercial interest in oil and diamonds, Isabel dos Santos also owns shares in the Angola cement company Nova Cimangola. Her husband is member of the board of the company but, more importantly, acquired the exploration rights of a subsidiary of Endiama
, the Angolan state company for diamond exploration and sale.
With the Kento Holding based in Malta
, Isabel dos Santos is shareholder of ZON Multimédia and Portugal Telecom
. She is also member of the board of Banco BIC Português and through Santoro Holding holds stakes at Banco Português de Investimento
, Banco Espirito Santo
and Energias de Portugal
. Other major stakes she has together with Angolan state oil company Sonangol through their mutual offshore holding
named Esperanza Holding in Portuguese Galp Energia
. Counting together all of her financial interests, there is to be added Caixa Geral de Depósitos
, Banco Santander Totta, Banco Português de Negócios
, Mota-Engil
as well as, since 2010/2011, the activities of Portuguese company Sonae
in Angola.
Together with her father, she constituted the Geni Holding, as an umbrella for their Portuguese investments. The holding company is active in the banking, oil, diamonds and construction. The starting point, however, was the creation of Unitel in partnership with Portugal Telecom
. In addition to Isabel dos Santos, Leopoldino Fragoso Nascimento, Anthony Van-Dunem and Manuel Augusto da Fonseca, also took part in the founding and were later joined by the French-Brazilian businessman Pierre Falcone
, also known through the Angolagate
affair.
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
n investor. She is considered by Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
worth at least 50 million US Dollars and as the most powerful and richest woman in her country and among the richest in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Family and Education
Isabel dos Santos is the eldest daughter of Angola's President José Eduardo dos SantosJosé Eduardo dos Santos
José Eduardo dos Santos is an Angolan politician who has been the second and current President of Angola since 1979. As President, José Eduardo dos Santos is also the commander in chief of the Angolan Armed Forces and president of the MPLA , the party that has been ruling Angola since...
and Tatiana Kukanova from Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, his first wife. In London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where her mother now lives, she studied electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
and business management. There she met her husband from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, Sindika Dokolo
Sindika Dokolo
Sindika Dokolo is a Congolese arts collector and businessman. He is the husband of businesswoman Isabel dos Santos from Angola....
, the son of a millionaire from Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
and his Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
wife. They married in 2003, in Luanda
Luanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
. The wedding, a 4 million-dollar party with 1000 guests, was one of the largest weddings in the history of the country. Reports in Portuguese newspapers said, that the guest were flown in from France and Portugal. Best man was the then Minister of Petroleum of Angola, Desidério Costa
Desiderio Costa
Desiderio da Graça Verissimo e Costa is an Angolan politician who was Minister of Petroleum from 2002 to 2008.As Minister of Petroleum, Costa visited the China, Cuba, Venezuela, the United States and others, due to his country's expanding petroleum industry. He was the 2005-2006 chairman of the...
.
Business activities
Isabel dos Santos is described by the Portuguese newspaper Público as "a good business woman, extremely dynamic and intelligent, also a professional and friendly".At the age of 24, she joined the business and since then cleverly uses the influence of her father. She started in the capital Luanda
Luanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
, where - financially backed by her father - she founded Urbana 2000, a company that won the contract for cleaning and disinfection of the city. On Luanda Island
Ilha de Luanda
Ilha do Cabo typically known as Ilha de Luanda is a spit off the shore of Luanda, the capital of Angola. It is cultivated by a low sandy strip formed by sedimentation...
, that is part of the bay of Luanda, she opened in 2006 the Miami Beach Club, one of the first night clubs in the capital. Later she worked for Ascorp, the only legal trading company for diamonds in Angola. There she was a partner with Lev Leviev
Lev Leviev
Lev Avnerovich Leviev is a Bukharian-Israeli billionaire businessman, with a net worth of roughly $1.5 billion following the 2008 global financial crisis. Leviev is one of the most prominent Mizrahi Jewish individuals in the world and has been a major philanthropist for Jewish causes in Eastern...
.
Within short she assumed the key role in managing the family fortune amassed by her father. This led her to create several holdings, in Angola and abroad, and to make substantial investments in a series of entreprises, especially in Portugal.
Investments in Portugal
Since 2008 she has relevant interests in telecommunications, mediaMass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
, finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
and the energy industry
Energy industry
The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution...
, both in Angola and in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. In addition to her commercial interest in oil and diamonds, Isabel dos Santos also owns shares in the Angola cement company Nova Cimangola. Her husband is member of the board of the company but, more importantly, acquired the exploration rights of a subsidiary of Endiama
Endiama
Endiama is the national diamond company of Angola and it is the exclusive concessionary of mining rights in the domain of diamonds. Angola's state-run diamond company Endiama produced 8.55 million carats of diamonds in 2010. Antonio Carlos Sumbula is the president of the corporation...
, the Angolan state company for diamond exploration and sale.
With the Kento Holding based in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, Isabel dos Santos is shareholder of ZON Multimédia and Portugal Telecom
Portugal Telecom
Portugal Telecom is the largest telecommunications service provider in Portugal. Although it operates mainly in Portugal and Brazil, it has also a significant presence in Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Timor-Leste, Angola, Kenya, the People's Republic of China, and São Tomé and...
. She is also member of the board of Banco BIC Português and through Santoro Holding holds stakes at Banco Português de Investimento
Banco Português de Investimento
Banco Português de Investimento is a major privately owned bank in Portugal. The bank's shares are listed in the Euronext Lisbon's PSI-20 stock index. It runs the banking business with companies, institutional and private clients. As Sociedade Portuguesa de Investimentos it was founded in 1981 by...
, Banco Espirito Santo
Banco Espírito Santo
Banco Espírito Santo is a private Portuguese bank, based in Lisbon.The Banco Espírito Santo’s origins began with the lottery, currency exchange and securities business carried out by José Maria do Espírito Santo e Silva between 1869 and 1884...
and Energias de Portugal
Energias de Portugal
EDP - Energias de Portugal ranks among Europe's major electricity operators, as well as being one of Portugal's largest business groups....
. Other major stakes she has together with Angolan state oil company Sonangol through their mutual offshore holding
Offshore company
The term offshore company is ambiguous. It may refer to either:# A company which is incorporated outside the jurisdiction of its primary operations regardless of whether that jurisdiction is an offshore financial centre i.e...
named Esperanza Holding in Portuguese Galp Energia
Galp Energia
The Galp Energia Group is a Portuguese corporation which consists of more than 100 companies engaged in activities such as natural gas supply, regasification, transport, storage, and distribution; petroleum products exploration, production, refining, trading, logistics and retailing; co-generation...
. Counting together all of her financial interests, there is to be added Caixa Geral de Depósitos
Caixa Geral de Depósitos
Caixa Geral de Depósitos is a Portuguese state-owned banking corporation and the largest bank in Portugal.- History :*1876 — Caixa Geral de Depósitos was founded under the aegis of the Junta de Crédito Público....
, Banco Santander Totta, Banco Português de Negócios
Banco Português de Negócios
Banco Português de Negócios , or simply BPN, is a Portuguese banking institution. It used to be a private bank, but was nationalized by the Portuguese Government in 2008 after a bad management and malpractice-related debt of 1.800 billion euros and several irregularities uncovered in the...
, Mota-Engil
Mota-Engil
Mota-Engil is a Portuguese industrial conglomerate. Its principal activities include civil engineering and construction of infrastructure including bridges, dams, industrial buildings, schools, chimneys and roads; energy and steel works ; transport concessions and environment and services...
as well as, since 2010/2011, the activities of Portuguese company Sonae
Sonae
Sonae is a conglomerate, and is the largest private employer in Portugal. The company is primarily engaged in the operation of retail stores through its subsidiary Modelo Continente....
in Angola.
Together with her father, she constituted the Geni Holding, as an umbrella for their Portuguese investments. The holding company is active in the banking, oil, diamonds and construction. The starting point, however, was the creation of Unitel in partnership with Portugal Telecom
Portugal Telecom
Portugal Telecom is the largest telecommunications service provider in Portugal. Although it operates mainly in Portugal and Brazil, it has also a significant presence in Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Timor-Leste, Angola, Kenya, the People's Republic of China, and São Tomé and...
. In addition to Isabel dos Santos, Leopoldino Fragoso Nascimento, Anthony Van-Dunem and Manuel Augusto da Fonseca, also took part in the founding and were later joined by the French-Brazilian businessman Pierre Falcone
Pierre Falcone
Pierre Falcone is a member of Angola's delegation to UNESCO, and holds the rank of Minister Counsellor. He is married to artist and socialite Sonia Falcone....
, also known through the Angolagate
Angolagate
Angolagate, also known as the Mitterrand-Pasqua affair, is an international political scandal over the secret sale and shipment of arms from Central Europe to the government of Angola by the Government of France in the 1990s...
affair.
Weblinks
- Pitigrili about Isabel dos Santos
- Público Capa: The face of Angola July 20, 2007 (Portuguese)