An African Dictator's Son And His Very Lavish Toys

The irony: The West African nation of Equitorial Guinea is one of the smallest countries in Africa, but its third largest exporter of oil, and it has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. Still, over 70% of the country's population lives in extreme poverty.

Equatorial Guinea ranks very poorly in the United Nations human development index: most citizens lack access to clean drinking water, and about 20% of its children die before the age of five. The remaining 80% of the children have to deal with a low standard of education.

But Teodorin Nguema Obiang, the 41 year-old son of the country's President, is unaffected. Two weeks ago, Global Witness did a report on how the eccentric playboy splashed $20 million of suspect funds to purchase art from the estate of the late Yves Saint Laurent. Global Witness had already reported on his high spending ways: back in 2006, it detailed how the dictator's son spent over $30 million to acquire a mansion in California. The story can be found here.

Teodorin, who serves as Equitorial Guinea's minister of Forestry and Agriculture (even though he spends very little time in the country), is one of Africa's most lavish spenders. Over time there's been plenty of evidence of his outrageous spending from various sources. In 2006, a journalist from the Sunday Times of London reported that Teodorin, during a weekend in South Africa spent nearly $1.5 million on two Bentleys - an Arnage T and a Mulliner - and a Lamborghini Murcielago as well as two luxury houses.

So, while his official salary as a minister stands at a modest $6,500 a month, he is apparently able to afford:

    Two lavish homes in Capetown, South-Africa
    Homes in Buenos Aires, Argentina, London and the wealthy 16th arrondissement of Paris
    A mansion in Malibu, California that reportedly cost over $30 million
    A car collection that includes a Bugatti Veyron, a Lamborghinis Murcielago, 2 Bentleys- an Arnage T and a Mulliner and an Aston Martin Vanquish
    A Gulfstream V Jet that reportedly cost $35 million
    An art collection purchased from the estate of the late Yves Saint Laurent, which sources say is worth $20 million

Don't ask me where the money comes from, but your guess is as good as mine. Teodorin loves the finer things in life. In 2006 he staged a Christmas party for his girlfriend at the time, Grammy award-winning Hip-hop act, Eve, aboard Tatoosh, the 300-foot yacht owned by Microsoft billionaire, Paul Allen, spending over $400,000 to rent the boat. But while renting a yacht is cool enough, it's never as much fun as owning your very own. So in February this year he commissioned Kusch Yachts, the German yacht-maker, to build him one of his own.

If or when built, the yacht (currently operating under the codename 'Project Zen') will cost an estimated $380 million, according to reports from the Los Angeles Times and other sources. It will feature such luxuries as a movie theater, restaurant, bar, swimming pool and a security system with floor motion sensors and fingerprint door openers. However, construction on the yacht has not begun.

Teodorin's father, Teodoro Obiang seized power through a bloody coup in 1979 and for the past 32 years has presided over a despotic government notorious for its flagrant disregard for human rights, oppression of journalists and extreme levels of corruption. The bulk of the country's wealth is sourced primarily from its oil revenues generated by multinational oil companies like ExxonMobil, but is unevenly distributed among the President, his family and close associates. The rest of the population suffers in silence.

And as if the people of Equatorial Guinea haven't had enough of retrogressive governance in the past 32 years, Teodorin is currently being groomed to replace his father as Equatorial Guinea's next president. What a future!