The world’s costliest yacht, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s Pelorus.Dmitry Lovetsky
The top-secret project, codenamed Zen, would produce a luxury yacht at an astounding cost of $380-million. English-designed and German-built, it would be the second-most expensive private yacht in the world, equipped with a cinema, swimming pool, bar, restaurant and helipad.
But the real shocker is the man who commissioned the plans. According to an investigation by a human-rights group, the yacht was ordered by the President's son in Equatorial Guinea, a small African nation where 60 per cent of the population struggles to survive on less than a dollar a day.
The 118-metre-long luxury yacht, modelled on the $1.2-billion yacht of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, would cost almost three times more than the country spends annually on health and education combined. It would be merely the latest extravagance of Teodorin Obiang, son of the long-ruling dictator of Equatorial Guinea, an oil-rich country where poverty and illness are widespread.
Even as dictators are being toppled in North Africa, equally autocratic rulers continue to reign in many other parts of the continent. But the uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya are focusing new attention on the lavish lifestyles of other African strongmen - and there is plenty of shocking evidence to uncover.
Equatorial Guinea, the third-biggest oil producer in Africa, is one of the most corrupt and worst violators of human rights on the continent, analysts say. Mr. Obiang's father, Teodoro Obiang, seized power in a violent coup in 1979 and has tolerated no challenge to his power. He is listed by Forbes magazine as one of the richest rulers in the world, with a fortune estimated at $600-million.
Under his rule, unlawful killings and police torture have been documented. The President's media have said he has the authority to kill anyone because he is "in permanent contact with the Almighty." He was recently elected chairman of the African Union.
His son is an international playboy with a fleet of luxury cars who gained notoriety for purchasing a $30-million mansion in Malibu - and paying cash. He furnished the house with $60,000 in rugs and a $58,000 home theatre, along with wine glasses costing $1,734 a pair, U.S. Senate investigators found.
The cost of the planned yacht is "a staggering sum," said Gavin Hayman, a campaigner at Global Witness, the group that uncovered the yacht's details. The design alone has cost $342,000. "That a president's son from such a poor country has ordered this yacht is outrageous extravagance," he said.
The government of Equatorial Guinea told the group that Teodorin Obiang commissioned the yacht but hasn't decided to buy it. The group said the yacht was originally ordered for a 2012 delivery date but construction has not started.
Despite the country's vast oil wealth, more than half of its population has no access to clean water, and nearly one-fifth of its children die before the age of 5, the United Nations has reported.
In a conversation with the U.S. embassy in 2009, Teodorin Obiang insisted he was merely "lucky in business," according to a diplomatic cable obtained by WikiLeaks. The cable documented how he had obtained a government concession to clear-cut a large section of pristine jungle, which he then shipped to Asian markets, giving him "a large windfall."
He still owns the logging company and remains active in business, even though he is currently the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, the cable said. "I like to live well," he told the U.S. diplomats.
Geoffrey York