Omar Bongo left about 300 billion CFA francs and 54 children; one daughter took his heir's birth certificate to a French court, and France charged at least nine of the children

Omar Bongo ruled Gabon from 1967 until he died on 8 June 2009. A French judge found that much of the family's money came from "undue commissions" paid by Elf, now part of TotalEnergies, to exploit Gabon's oil. Bongo had 54 children. His son Ali, who succeeded him as president, and his daughter Pascaline were named the only universal legatees. On 17 February 2014, 53 heirs met at a Libreville hotel. A bailiff's minutes, reported by Mediapart, valued the estate at about 300 billion CFA francs, about 400 million euros. In 2015 his daughter Onaïda Maïsha Bongo Ondimba, 25, asked a court in Nantes for Ali's birth certificate; he was the only declared heir who had not produced one. A 2014 book by Pierre Péan claimed Ali was a Nigerian child adopted during the Biafra war; the presidency denied it. On 12 November 2015 the judge found her descent from Omar "proven" and granted access. In France, investigators had charged at least nine of the children by July 2022 over a property empire worth at least 85 million euros; four said their Paris apartments were gifts from their father. They are charged, not convicted, and the French investigation was still open in October 2024. Ali was deposed in a coup in August 2023. On 11 or 12 November 2025 a Libreville special criminal court sentenced his wife Sylvia and son Noureddin in absentia to 20 years. They deny the charges and live in London.