Copper, Congo, and the Kazakh Oligarchs
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the third largest country in Africa. It sits on top of enormous reserves of cobalt, diamonds, copper, gold, and rare minerals. By any logic, this should be one of the wealthiest nations on the continent. Instead, it is one of the poorest countries on Earth. Only Zimbabwe has a lower per capita GDP. Chapter 35 of Torsten Dennin’s “From Tulips to Bitcoins” tells the story of how Kazakh oligarchs ended up controlling Congo’s copper riches through a chain of shady deals, corrupt middlemen, and a government that treated its country’s resources like personal property.