The African tyrant living in luxury while his people starve | 60 Minutes Australia

Summary

The script exposes the corrupt regime of Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang, who exploits the country's vast oil reserves for personal gain while his people suffer. Despite the nation's rapid economic growth, driven by oil, the wealth isn't trickling down to the citizens. International oil companies, including ExxonMobil, are criticized for their involvement with the regime, raising questions about ethics in the pursuit of natural resources. The video also highlights the stark contrast between the luxurious lifestyles of the ruling family and the abject poverty of the masses.

Takeaways

• 😡 The President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, is accused of being a tyrant, possibly the worst in the world, who is robbing his country blind.
• 📉 Despite vast oil deposits discovered offshore, making the country potentially the richest in the world, most of the oil money is being funneled into the president's pocket, not benefiting the people.
• 🌍 The country has one of the most appalling human rights records, with regular torture and extrajudicial killings, yet it was largely ignored until oil was discovered.
• 🏭 American oil giants, particularly ExxonMobil, are heavily involved in the country's oil industry, initially giving Equatorial Guinea a very low share of the oil revenues.
• 🏙️ The capital city of Equatorial Guinea is a mix of Spanish colonial architecture and slums, with little running water and no sewage, while the president lives lavishly.
• 🚗 The president's son, Teodoro Jr., is known for his extravagant lifestyle, including shopping sprees in Paris and a penchant for luxury cars and suits.
• 📉 While the country's economy is growing rapidly, the expenditure on health and education has declined, and the wealth is not reaching the general population.
• 🏦 President Obiang has significant financial holdings in Washington, D.C., including over 60 accounts at Riggs Bank, where he also owns a mansion.
• 🏡 The president and his family enjoy a luxurious lifestyle with mansions in Beverly Hills and Washington, D.C., contrasting sharply with the poverty in Equatorial Guinea.
• 🌟 The script concludes with a call for moral responsibility from Western countries and oil companies in their dealings with the corrupt and oppressive regime.

Q & A

Equatorial Guinea的领导人是如何利用国家的石油财富的？

Equatorial Guinea的总统Teodoro Obiang被指控将大部分石油收入直接转入个人口袋，过着奢侈的生活，而他的人民却处于贫困之中。[^1^]

Equatorial Guinea的石油收入有多少用于改善国民的生活条件？

尽管Equatorial Guinea的石油财富巨大，但大部分并没有用于改善国民的生活条件，实际上，健康和教育的实际支出在过去五年中显著下降，而这段时间正是石油财富真正开始增长的时候。[^1^]

国际石油公司在Equatorial Guinea的石油开发中扮演了什么角色？

国际石油巨头，尤其是ExxonMobil，在美国和其他国际石油公司的主导下，在Equatorial Guinea的石油开发中发挥了重要作用。最初，他们给Equatorial Guinea的石油所有者只提供了12%的石油收入，而通常的标准是60%左右。[^1^]

Equatorial Guinea的石油财富如何影响了该国的经济增长？

Equatorial Guinea的经济增长迅速，去年经济增长了60%，是世界上增长最快的经济体，但这并没有转化为国民的财富，因为大部分石油收入都被转移到了其他地方。[^1^]

Equatorial Guinea的石油开发对环境有何影响？

Equatorial Guinea的石油开发导致了环境问题，如石油泄漏和天然气燃烧，这些都对环境造成了破坏。[^1^]

Equatorial Guinea的人权状况如何？

Equatorial Guinea有着可能是全世界最糟糕的人权记录，包括定期的酷刑和法外处决。[^1^]

Equatorial Guinea的总统Teodoro Obiang的个人生活是怎样的？

Teodoro Obiang和他的家人经常出国，他的儿子Teodoro Jr喜欢巴黎和它的豪华酒店，他曾经在一天之内购买了30套西装，并在香榭丽舍大街上开着兰博基尼去买CD。[^1^]

Equatorial Guinea的石油收入有多少流入了总统的个人账户？

有报道称，石油公司将版权使用费存入Riggs Bank的账户，其中Obiang控制着超过60个账户，包括一些账户的余额高达数亿美元。[^1^]

Equatorial Guinea的石油开发对全球石油市场有何影响？

Equatorial Guinea的石油对全球市场具有吸引力，因为它是非阿拉伯、非OPEC、非穆斯林的石油，且油井远离当地居民，减少了干扰。[^1^]

Equatorial Guinea的石油收入不平等分配导致了哪些社会问题？

Equatorial Guinea的石油收入不平等分配导致了社会问题，包括贫困、缺乏基础设施如自来水和污水处理设施，以及政府对反对派的打压。[^1^]

Outlines

00:00

🏛️ Oil Wealth and Tyranny in Equatorial Guinea

The paragraph discusses the paradox of Equatorial Guinea, a small African nation with vast oil reserves that should make it one of the world's richest countries within a decade. However, the wealth is concentrated in the hands of the corrupt and despotic President Teodoro Obiang, who lives lavishly while the majority of the population remains in poverty. The country's human rights record is abysmal, with regular reports of torture and extrajudicial killings. The oil, which is attractive due to its non-Arab, non-OPEC, and non-Muslim origins, is largely controlled by American companies like ExxonMobil, which initially gave the country a poor deal, taking advantage of the government's inexperience. The narrative also touches on the contrast between the opulence of the president's lifestyle and the squalor of the nation's living conditions, with the government's neglect of basic services like electricity and sewage.

05:01

📉 Declining Services Amidst Oil Boom

This paragraph highlights the ironic situation where, despite the influx of oil wealth, the expenditure on health and education in Equatorial Guinea has significantly declined over the past five years. The country's rapid economic growth has not translated into improved living standards for its citizens, with the wealth being diverted elsewhere. The narrative includes anecdotes about the lack of basic amenities like swimming pools and the challenges faced by athletes like Eric Moussambani, who had to train abroad due to the lack of facilities. It also describes the encounter with Exxon Mobil's employees and the subsequent expulsion of the reporter from the country by the information minister. The paragraph ends with a critique of the West's complicity in the situation, questioning the morality of doing business with a corrupt and cruel dictator like President Obiang.

10:03

🏦 The Global Financial Network of a Tyrant

The final paragraph delves into the global financial activities of President Obiang, who controls over 60 accounts at Riggs Bank in Washington, D.C., where he receives substantial royalty payments from oil companies. The paragraph describes the luxurious lifestyles of Obiang and his family, with mansions in Washington and Beverly Hills, contrasting sharply with the poverty in Equatorial Guinea. The reporter's visit to one of Obiang's mansions and the subsequent conversation with a government representative, who is also the president's cousin, adds a personal touch to the narrative. The paragraph concludes with a call to action, urging oil companies to reconsider their association with the dictator and to consider the moral implications of their business practices.

Keywords

💡tyrant

A tyrant is a ruler who has absolute power and uses it harshly and unfairly. In the context of the video, the term is applied to the president of Equatorial Guinea, who is accused of being vicious, venal, and responsible for the suffering of his people while he accumulates personal wealth [^1^].

💡Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea is a country located in Central Africa. It is the main subject of the video, which discusses the country's oil wealth, the president's alleged corruption, and the plight of its people who are among the poorest on earth despite the country's vast oil reserves [^1^].

💡oil deposits

Oil deposits refer to the underground accumulation of petroleum, which is a valuable natural resource. The discovery of vast oil deposits offshore of Equatorial Guinea is a central theme of the video, as it has led to the country's potential to become extremely wealthy, yet the majority of the wealth is not reaching the population [^1^].

💡revenues

Revenues, in this context, refer to the income generated from the country's oil resources. The video discusses how only a fraction of the oil revenues are given to Equatorial Guinea, with the majority being taken by oil companies and the ruling president, contributing to the country's wealth disparity [^1^].

💡human rights

Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that all individuals are entitled to. The video highlights Equatorial Guinea's poor human rights record, including regular torture and extrajudicial killings, as a result of the tyrannical rule of the president [^1^].

💡ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil is one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world. The video mentions ExxonMobil's involvement in Equatorial Guinea, suggesting that the company's business practices may contribute to the president's wealth and the country's wealth disparity [^1^].

💡corruption

Corruption is the dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power. The video uses the term to describe the actions of Equatorial Guinea's president, who is accused of treating the country's treasury as his personal property and using it for his own benefit [^1^].

💡despot

A despot is a ruler with absolute power who uses it in a cruel and oppressive way. The video describes the president of Equatorial Guinea as a horrible despot, indicating his tyrannical and oppressive rule over the country [^1^].

💡health and education

The video discusses the decline in expenditure on health and education in Equatorial Guinea over the last five years, despite the country's increasing oil wealth. This highlights the government's lack of investment in social services and the well-being of its citizens [^1^].

💡Washington

Washington, D.C. is mentioned in the video as a place where President Obiang of Equatorial Guinea has significant business and banking activities, including controlling numerous accounts at Riggs Bank. This suggests the extent of his international financial dealings and the global nature of his corruption [^1^].

Highlights

Equatorial Guinea, an African country with vast oil deposits, could become one of the richest in the world within a decade.

The country's president is accused of being a tyrant, living lavishly while most of the population remains in poverty.

The oil wealth is not reaching the citizens, with the president allegedly diverting funds into his personal accounts.

Equatorial Guinea has a poor human rights record, including regular torture and extrajudicial killings.

Oil companies, particularly ExxonMobil, are accused of profiting from the situation and contributing to the country's corruption.

The country's main island is described as being in the 'armpit of Africa', with little development despite oil wealth.

The government is accused of not investing in basic services like health and education, even as the country's economy grows rapidly.

The president's son, Teodoro Jr., is known for his extravagant lifestyle, including shopping sprees in Paris.

The reporter was asked to leave the country after the government stopped filming, indicating a lack of press freedom.

Opponents of the president have fled to Spain, fearing for their safety due to the government's history of locking up and executing dissenters.

The president's mansion in Washington D.C. and his son's Beverly Hills property highlight the family's wealth despite the country's poverty.

The president has over 60 accounts at Riggs Bank in Washington, where oil companies deposit royalty payments.

The reporter's attempt to speak with a government representative about the president's finances was met with evasive answers.

Despite the country's rapid economic growth, the average citizen sees little benefit, with many living in slums.

The West is criticized for being complicit in the corruption and human rights abuses by continuing to do business with the regime.

The reporter concludes by calling for ethical business practices and questioning the morality of associating with the Equatorial Guinean government.

Transcripts

tonight the story of a tyrant possibly

the worst in the world he's vicious he's

venal and he's robbing his country blind

his country is an african hellhole

called equatorial guinea and no one

would have ever heard or cared about it

if they hadn't discovered vast oil

deposits just offshore

so much oil in fact that at the rate

this tiny country is growing in 10 years

it could be the richest in the world

the trouble is most of the oil money is

being pumped directly into the

president's pocket

he's living like a king while his people

starve

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

the two bob tinpot tyrant who runs this

tiny african backwater gets around with

an entourage worthy of a

superpower and he is just about the most

horrible despot in the world today

president teodoro obiang

his people are amongst the poorest on

earth and he's amongst the richest

this is one bad place it's had one of

the most appalling human rights records

probably in the world regular torture

regular extrajudicial killings

until people found oil nobody was really

talking about equatorial guinea

the oil here is attractive because it's

non-arab non-opec non-muslim and the

reeks are well out of reach of the pesky

natives

the main island of this tiny nation is

in what detractors call the armpit of

africa

a small australian company rock oil is

drilling here but it's mostly american

giants particularly exxonmobil

to begin with they gave equatorial

guinea the oil's owners just 12

of the oil revenues

the norm is more like 60

according to alex vines an african

specialist with the royal institute of

international affairs initially the oil

companies gave equatorial guinea a

really bad deal they took advantage of

him certainly to start with

the government of ecuador and he had not

a clue what it was dealing with at the

time

[Music]

the main square in the capital is a

quaint throwback to spanish colonial

times

elsewhere the city is mostly a slum with

little running water and essentially no

sewage

the government stopped us filming here

but we manage these shots from our hotel

window

whilst the oil fires flicker on the

horizon at night

students with no electricity at home

study under the street lights that

eliminate the drive to the presidential

palace

it's a very bad evil government and

exxon i think to a shame is

in bed with them frank ruddy is doubly

qualified he was once the american

ambassador to equatorial guinea and once

a lawyer for exxon the shameful part is

that

you have a great company like exxon

mogul

which is tied in with this very corrupt

government the president treats the

treasury as his own uh patrimony and so

to do business with somebody like that

and to uh basically literally feed his

coffers um i think it's shameful

the president and his family are

frequently overseas

first son teodoro jr is partial to paris

and its finest hotels

incredibly he once allowed french

television to tag along on a shopping

spree

but a bentley can be hard work in paris

traffic

a fashion house closed its doors to give

junior exclusive access to the

merchandise

[Music]

but whilst their paris ambassador

did his job

teodoro bought 30 suits that day

[Music]

and then took the lamborghini down the

champs-elysees to get some cds

would it be churlish to suggest that

maybe it's successes like this that

caused so little to be spent in the

slums back home

the actual expenditure on health and

education has significantly declined in

the last five years and think of it the

last five years are when the oil wealth

has really been kicking in so although

the country's getting richer actually

the people are getting poorer the money

is going elsewhere it's not going to the

benefit of the people

the white man's hotel in the capital has

one of the nation's two swimming pools

neither contains water

pity really because here we found eric

musumbani eric the eel

remember him

the slowest swimmer at the sydney

olympics and now training for athens

well how do you do training if the pools

haven't got water

okay i was in south africa and in ghana

that way i have been training but now i

have to move to spain

to train

here i can't do it

at the same hotel we ran into some of

exxon mobil's men relaxing after a stint

on the rigs

perhaps being well oiled blurs the sight

of the squalor that's all around this

country's dirt poor where's all the

money going we don't control where the

money goes we're just out here to do a

job

[Music]

i was having dinner at a fish restaurant

an hour or so after

talking to those rig workers when out of

the blue the equatorial guinean

information minister shows up and says

get out of the country

your visa has been revoked and he added

for good measure if you go quietly then

nobody will be thrown into jail

so i think understandably we then

quietly made our way here to madrid in

spain

how many times have you been to jail

four days

have you been to jail

several time

the rat infested black beach jail back

in the capital is where president obiang

locks up his opponents

when he seized power from his uncle 25

years ago he kept him here for a couple

of days and then had him executed

no wonder many in opposition to obiang

today have fled here madrid spain the

former colonial power the way obiang is

taking

all the country including natural

resources he genuinely believes that

this country belongs to him in your

democracy sir in the late 90s the

president also believes he's sharing

those resources

at least that's what he told bob simon

from cbs 60 minutes in an interview last

year

the oil has been for us like

mana that the jews ate in the desert

we have to follow the rules to make sure

the mana reaches all the people in

equatorial guinea

the oil companies make sure the manner

reaches at least as far as him

in america it's red carpet treatment for

the president all the way and i remember

the president has a very fine collection

of scotch whiskey

obiang was even a guest at this function

when big oil paraded its biggest and

most powerful friend

[Music]

do you have any qualms about doing

business then

it's a matter of you have to mr stephen

hayes runs america's corporate council

on africa the council lobbies for

american oil i mean is there any depth

to which you will not sink i mean would

you

do business with this man obiang no

matter how corrupt he is

i i think that at some point again um

that's that's a that's a good question

is there any level at which any oil

company in the world wouldn't uh do

business with where there's that much

oil

um i don't know your position is that we

shouldn't be taking oil from equatorial

guinea no no no no no no no no it is

that position because there's no other

choice well let me tell you my position

so my position is there should be some

morality in this and there should be a

level below which you won't sink and

you've sunk to unbelievable depths in

dealing with such a corrupt and cruel

dictator as obiang well i don't i don't

agree with it what the crew a bit or the

corrupted no i don't i certainly i don't

i don't

i don't agree that american companies

are are not following the fair the fair

uh trade practices act

[Music]

it turns out president obiang does lots

and lots of business in washington oil

business and

private business

the ritzy part of the most important

city in the world washington is um well

very ritzy and when it comes to a good

address there are a few better places

than here dupont circle on this circle

there's one particularly interesting

building the dupont circle branch of

riggs bank

never heard of it well if you're a

member of the saudi royal family you

would have because many of them do their

private banking here as does president

obian

obiang controls in excess of 60 accounts

at this bank including the one where oil

companies deposit royalty payments

in some accounts the balances run to

hundreds of millions of dollars

in such circumstances i guess it's

understandable that the president would

equip himself with a mansion like this

just outside washington

but it's a silly president who forgets

to lock the front gate

hello

good morning

is prisoner obiang in please

hello how do you do a caretaker

eventually emerged from a garage so i

got a glimpse of the presidential fleet

and since the president was not in when

i dropped by the same caretaker very

kindly arranged for me to speak with a

government representative on the phone

who is this yes

your friend what's your friend's name

oh

you're the ambassador

oh i see you're the president's cousin

oh goodness gracious me well mr

ambassador tell me how much money has

the president got in his rigged bank

account at the moment the fbi is trying

to trace cash movements in and out of

that account is that mr ambassador

you're still there

and whether it's the oil companies

making the

cash payments

bye-bye

president obiang and his family must

enjoy the lifestyles of the rich and

famous otherwise why would he have

another mansion just down the

road and across the continent another

los angeles luxurious beverly hills area

is home for teodoro jr remember him he's

the son who likes the fast cars and

fancy suits swimming holes movie stars

and an african prince where is the owner

of the property

the africa prince

an african prince

[Laughter]

[Music]

back home in equatorial guinea's slums

last year the economy grew a massive 60

it is the fastest growing economy on

earth

near to none of the country's half

million people see a brass razoo from

this

why don't you do the right thing get out

of equatorial guinea turn your back on

this corrupt dictator let's assume that

every oil company us oil company gets

out how fast do you think it would be

before the french

and other international oil companies

are in there

a second

so

what really changes in equatorial guinea

see that city is such a tiny place it

should be another q8 if everyone did the

right thing yes and the fact is that

almost no one is doing exactly the right

thing

by associating with this murderous

criminal tyrant

we in the west a party to a disgrace and

contributing to a disaster in the making

[Applause]

[Music]

hello i'm tom steinfert thanks for

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