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Isabel dos Santos
Forbes called her Africa's first woman billionaire; Angola calls her a defendant.
The rise
Born in Baku on 20 April 1973 to Angola's future president José Eduardo dos Santos and his Russian first wife, she took an engineering degree at King's College London. From 2000 she assembled stakes in the mobile operator Unitel, in Banco BIC, in the media group ZON and, through her husband's vehicle Exem, in Galp Energia.
What they did
Her father made her chair of the state oil company Sonangol in June 2016; his successor João Lourenço removed her in November 2017. On 19 January 2020 the ICIJ published the Luanda Leaks, 715,000 files setting out how the holdings were built through inside deals and shell companies. Angola charged her in January 2024 with twelve offences over some $219m of alleged state losses.
The full picture
She has never been convicted of a crime. In November 2025 an Angolan court dropped four charges and sent seven on; appeals are pending. An Interpol red notice has stood since December 2022, and courts in London, Portugal and Cyprus have frozen assets. Britain sanctioned her in 2024. She lives in Dubai and calls it persecution.
Why it matters
A collection showing only admirable business is propaganda. Hers is the continent's best-documented case of proximity to power converting into private wealth, and of the Western banks and consultancies that helped.
“My holdings are commercial. There are no proceeds from contracts or public contracts, or money that has been deviated from public funds.”
What citizens said
Afrobarometer Round 9 (2021–2023) — Angola
% who say 'trust somewhat' or 'trust a lot' · Afrobarometer Dispatch No. 891