Playboy with money to burn
July 20, 2005
Karen Breytenbach
Cape Town: The international playboy son of the president of oil-rich, yet underdeveloped, Equatorial Guinea, where the majority of the 500 000 citizens live on a dollar a day, has been on a spending spree in Cape Town, lavishing millions on house renovations, cars, hotel accommodation and entertainment.
Since the weekend, Teodorin Nguema Obiang, 34 - called Teodorin in his home country - has already spent close to R10 million on three luxury cars and millions on other luxuries, according to impeccable sources who asked not to be named.
Teodorin is the Minister of Forestry, Environment and Housing in the government of his father, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, and reportedly owns a stake in a multimillion-rand logging company.
A graduate of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, Teodorin is also the owner of the only government-approved private radio station in Equatorial Guinea, Radio Asonga, runs Television Asonga, which is owned by his father, and owns the hip hop record label TNO (for Teodorin Nguema Obiang) Records.
It is understood that while in Cape Town Teodorin spent about R7 million on two Bentleys - one a black 2004 Bentley Arnage T, the other a cream 2005 Bentley Mulliner - at MG Rover Cape Town, as well as R3.2 million on a white 2005 6-litre Lamborghini at Bloomsbury in Buitengracht Street.
The cars were parked outside the Mount Nelson Hotel on Monday. Staff there said the vehicles had been bought this weekend by "an African prince". All three cars had temporary CA number plates.
Important
MG Rover's management declined to provide exact prices, "because he (Teodorin) is a very important client". But according to Bentley SA, a 2005 model Bentley Arnage T would cost R4.3 million.
Bloomsbury's management declined to confirm whether Teodorin had bought the sports car, "because we have to protect the privacy of our clients", but was prepared to reveal that a white 2005 six-litre Lamborghini had been sold two days earlier for R3.2 million.
Teodorin's architects are also understood to be starting soon with multimillion-rand renovations to his properties, 35 Klaassens Road, Bishopscourt - which he bought in March last year for a reported R26 million - and 76 Fourth Beach, Clifton, bought for R23.5 million.
Yesterday morning, Teodorin left the Mount Nelson with a large entourage of security guards, personal assistants and a chauffeur, after spending R15 000 on French champagne at the hotel's Planet Bar on Friday night, according to a hotel staff member. From there he drove to the airport, surrounded by bodyguards. The luxury suite where he stayed costs R8 030 a night.
Asked for comment on his visit, an official of the Equatorial Guinea embassy in Pretoria said Teodorin's visit had been in his private capacity.
"What do you want with him? His private business is not for you to put in the newspaper," she said, and hung up.
The Mount Nelson's management promised to extend an invitation to Teodorin for an interview with The Mercury's sister paper, the Cape Times, although they stressed that they needed to protect his privacy. Teodorin had not responded by the time of going to press.
The Cape Times tried to contact Equatorial Guinea's Department of Foreign Affairs in Malabo, but Telkom's international operator said all phone connections with Equatorial Guinea had been "down for months".
Teodorin reportedly also has homes in Paris, London and Los Angeles, where he has fleets of Bentleys and Lamborghinis, and is often seen at glitzy parties in Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles, London and Paris.
Investment
Stellenbosch African politics professor Willie Breytenbach said in recent years Equatorial Guinea had become one of the world's fastest growing economies, beating even China and South Korea, with a 40% growth rate in 2003 - albeit off a low base - due to investment by multinational oil companies.
According to the CIA's website "despite the country's windfall from oil production resulting in a massive increase in government revenue in recent years, there have been few improvements in the country's living standards".
