Luanda Made Him a Billionaire and a Diplomat
Arcadi Gaydamak is one of the most influential businesspeople in Angola and one of the closest to the corridors of power. His ties to president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, dos Santos' daughter businesswoman Isabel, generals and high-ranking police officers trace back several years. The close relationship garnered Gaydamak an Angolan diplomatic passport - in addition to French, Canadian, Russian and Israeli citizenship. He holds a title in the Angolan embassy in Moscow and travels the Russian capital in a Bentley with diplomatic plates. Angola transformed the Russian Jewish immigrant to France from well-to-do, to a billionaire, who estimated his own fortune at $3 billion in an interview with Haaretz three years ago.