Ali Bongo Ondimba simply known as Ali Bongo or Ali Ben Bongo was born Alain-Bernard Bongo on 9th February 1959; is a Gabonese politician who was the third president of Gabon from 2009 to 2023.
President Ali Bongo has been an ever-present figure in Gabonese lives since he took power in 2009 following his father’s death, Omar Bongo, who ruled the oil-rich nation for 42 years.
This article (video) deciphers the enigma surrounding Ali Bongo’s net worth, delving into his career, accomplishments, and the financial alchemy that has led to his astounding fortune.
NET WORTH
Ali Bongo inherited his father’s political position and commercial interests, which he used to accumulate an estimated $1 billion in personal wealth.
Ali Bongo Ondimba’s wealth makes him one of the wealthiest individuals in Africa.
Nonetheless, his prosperity has also generated controversy. He has been accused of mismanaging the nation’s economy and using his position to elevate himself and his family.
In addition, despite the fact that Gabon’s oil reserves have enriched its rulers, many of whom are related by blood, the population’s discontent with the country’s inequality is increasing. For most people in Gabon, economic pain is rising along with prices.
However, Gabon’s hydrocarbon export revenue was $6 billion in 2022 according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“It is an oil emirate run like a family property for almost six decades,” said Thomas Borrel, an analyst in France who studies Africa.
Bongo is one of Africa’s richest heads of state, and his wealth is likely to be scrutinized even more now, along with that of his family. Investigators in the U.S. and France have looked into millions of assets in both countries.
How He Spent His Money
Rolls Royces to BMWs – Ali Bongo’s £12.8m car collection
Documents have revealed that Ali Bongo has more than two dozen luxury cars, some of which he enjoys joyriding in the desert, while his population struggles with poor food supplies.
Four months after Ali assumed the presidency, a subsequently leaked document showed that his office had purchased 29 luxury vehicles valued at £12.8 million via a Swiss company.
The purchase included two Maybach 62S (worth £426,680 each), two Rolls Royce Phantoms (£371,453 each) and two Rolls Royce Ghosts (£227,994 each).
Four years later, Jean-Fidele Otandault, the head of Gabon’s public spending watchdog, said that “half of the [state’s] budget had simply vanished” when investigating the lack of funds in the country.
Government sources said the president liked to take the high-speed vehicles out for joyrides in the desert while his bodyguards followed in tow.
Imported Snow
Gabon’s ousted President Ali Bongo once imported fake snow to the Presidential Palace, so his family could have a snowy Christmas.
In July 2015 Ali Bongo met with Lionel Messi after he invited the footballer to Gabon. During his visit, Messi was shamed for his style of clothing since many of the opposition believed that since he was rich he had to wear something nice.
Messi was reported to have been paid $ 3 million to appear Ali Bongo.
Mansions
The 28 homes of Gabon’s Ousted President, Ali Bongo and his family
French judges discovered in an investigation in 2008 that Omar Bongo and his children, including Ali Bongo, purchased several assets in the most prestigious areas of Paris, the daily Liberation reported on Thursday.
Those were purchased with corrupt money from companies including Elf-Total, the daily said, citing judicial investigations.
The family’s luxurious assets include a private hotel of 5,400 square meters (58,125 square feet) in the neighbourhood of ministries and embassies, other apartments in other posh districts of Paris, and villas in Nice, a well-known touristic city in Mediterranean France.
The daily added that the value of those assets was uncountable, but that a court order in 2022 estimated it to be around €85 million (approximately $92.4 million).
There have been eight coups since 2020 across the African continent – last month, the Niger military overthrew the democratically-elected Mohammed Bazoum – many of which have been former French colonies.
Early Life
Ali Bongo Ondimba, the former president of Gabon who was ousted from power, was born in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, on February 9, 1959. He was originally named Alain Bernard Bongo.
Ali Bongo’s father was Omar Bongo, a former president and prominent politician in Gabon, and his mother was Patience Dabany, the former First Lady of Gabon.
Among Ali Bongo’s siblings were Pascaline Bongo Ondimba, Albertine Amissa Bongo, and Frédéric Bongo Ondimba. He pursued his higher education at Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris, France, from 1977 to 1981.
Career
In 1989, following his father’s appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Bongo served in this capacity until 1991, when he became a member of the National Assembly. Subsequently, in 1999, he was appointed Minister of Defense.
Following the death of his father in 2009, Bongo won a contentious election to assume the presidency. Ali Bongo was reelected in 2016 despite differences during the election process.
The establishment of the Higher Council of Islamic Affairs of Gabon (CSAIG) in 1996. Defense Minister Idriss Ngari’s supporters challenged President Ali Bongo for the PDG nomination in the same year’s parliamentary election, but Bongo was able to win and retain his seat with the assistance of his influential political ally, his maternal uncle Jean-Boniface Assélé.
In December 2001, following his election as a PDG candidate in Haut-Ogooué Province, Ali Bongo joined the National Assembly. In July 2003, he was elected vice president at the PDG’s eighth ordinary congress, thereby strengthening his position within the party.
Then, as Coordinator-General of Youth, Ali Bongo played a crucial role in his father’s re-election campaign during the 2005 presidential election. On January 21, 2006, in recognition of his efforts, he was promoted to Minister of State while retaining the defence portfolio.
According to sources, on August 30, 2023, Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba was placed under house arrest, while one of his sons was detained for “treason.” This development followed the military officers’ announcement that they had effectively overthrown the Gabonese government.
How did the coup happen?
The military’s seizure of power began on Wednesday, shortly after Gabon’s election authority declared that President Bongo had been re-elected in the recent election.
Individuals in army uniforms made an announcement on national television, declaring that they had taken control of the government. They declared the election results invalid, closed all borders, and dissolved numerous government institutions, including both houses of parliament.
The coup leaders also reported that President Bongo had been placed under house arrest, with his family and doctors present. Additionally, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, the son of the ousted president, was among seven individuals arrested on charges of “high treason.”
A video released by the Agence France-Presse news agency showed President Bongo seated in what appeared to be a library, expressing confusion about the situation.
He mentioned that he was at his residence and was unaware of current events, stating that his son and wife were in different locations.
The circumstances surrounding the filming of this video remain unclear.
Meanwhile, the junta named General Brice Oligui Nguema as the transitional leader. General Nguema had previously served as the bodyguard of President Bongo’s late father, the former ruler of Gabon.
In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde on Wednesday, General Nguema asserted that President Bongo was being treated like a “normal Gabonese” citizen and enjoyed all his rights.
