The richest Dutchman owns estates in Scotland, England and the Netherlands, and now he is turning to Africa. In the past five years, Paul van Vlissingen has made himself the largest private operator of African national parks. Last year he put €18 million of his own money into projects from South Africa to Ethiopia. So what does he get in return? Is he the saviour of rural Africa or a land-grabbing menace? Fred Pearce hears him out.
Where did the money come from that allowed you to buy into Africa?
Our family has been the best-known industrial family in the…
