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| Ambimbola [BIM] Fernandez,24, is the daughter of reclusive gem tycoon Antonio Deinde Fernandez,her father is reportedly valued $8.7 billion. |
said to be one of the world’s wealthiest men, has set her sights on
becoming the next Rihanna.
Ambimbola
‘Bim’ Fernandez, the daughter of gemstone entrepreneur and former UN
ambassador Antonio Deinde Fernandez, has celebrated the release of her
first single by sitting down for an interview with the New York Post.
The
24-year-old, who is based in New York, told the paper that she has
embarked on her career without the help of her dad, who is reportedly
worth a staggering $8.7 billion.
She did, however, admit that he gives
her a hefty monthly allowance which pays for her luxury Manhattan
apartment among other living expenses.
Speaking
to the paper in her New York City home, which is flanked by original
artworks by Picasso and Dr Seuss, Ms Fernandez explained: ‘I think that,
unfortunately, everyone’s perception of socialites has been pretty
accurate so far, which is what I want to change.’
Miss Fernandez’s first single ‘Let’s
Take It Naked’ was released today on SMH Records’ site, with an iTunes
roll-out expected soon.
She cites Rihanna as one of her biggest musical inspirations.
‘Money can’t buy a record deal,’ she said of her situation. ‘It can’t buy good music. You can either sing or you can’t.’
A song about nakedness is perhaps a little more explicit than what one would expect from a well-heeled socialite, but Miss Fernandez says that ‘it’s not even that racy of a song!
‘It’s
very poppy, like, “I think you’re cute! Do you like me? So let’s get
naked!” I want it to be that song where it’s like, “Turn that song on!
Let’s get ready! Let’s do shots!”’
In November, she signed her record
deal with SMH and is now topping off negotiations for her reality TV
pilot called Gold Blooded to be picked up by a major network.
Her only prior professional music
experience was a vocal cameo in Cobra Starship’s 2009 album Hot Mess – a
feature she booked after meeting the band’s lead singer Gabe Saporta
backstage at a show.
Her record label says that Miss Fernandez has not put any of her own money into the music project.
In fact, Miss Fernandez appears to be more down to earth than one would expect.
She told the New York Post that she grew up not knowing how rich she was.
She
attended college at Oxford Brookes University in England for just a few
weeks before dropping out because ‘everyone was way too snobby – I
couldn’t do it,’ she said.
In July she tweeted: ‘Favorite time of the year. 80% off sales everywhere!’
Miss Fernandez is actually very active on Twitter, where she currently has more than 35,000 followers.
She has used the social networking site to keep her fans informed of her record’s progress, as well as her reality show.
Her father, 80, owns four residences:
A mansion in Larchmont, New York (where Miss Fernandez also resides), a
home in Brussels, a palace in Nigeria, and a French chateau that was
once owned by Napoleon.
Mr Fernandez is apparently transported between each of his homes on one of his three private jets.
While he was born of royal tribal blood, his fortune appears to be entirely self-made through a
series of diamond and gold mines across the Central African Republic.
His family counted Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan as good friends.
When
Mr Mandela died late last year Miss Fernandez shared photos of her posed
as a young child with the former South African President.
She wrote on Instagram: ‘It is
with great heartfelt sorrow to receive the message of Uncle Mandela’s
passing to glory. We, the Fernandez children have lost an exceptional
Uncle & the world, a great man. Rest in Peace. [sic]’
Miss Fernandez’s father is notably reclusive for fear of abduction and robbery.
He
is so private that blog entries written about him across the internet
almost describe him as a mythical-type person. Figures regarding his
exact wealth, properties, and other assets appear to be widely rumored
and disputed.
Some even say
that he owns up to six private jets and will not eat in a restaurant
unless the establishment is completely cleared out so that he can dine
alone.
Miss Fernandez’s starkly different outlook on publicity and self-promotion has worried her father.
‘He’s
terrified because I’m his baby – especially with [me] revealing [my]
wealth. And me being alone in the country, he’s terrified of someone
kidnapping me and holding me for ransom,’ she said.
‘He also just doesn’t want people taking advantage of me because I have been sheltered my whole life.’
Last
year, Miss Fernandez finally decided to see-out her life-long dream of a
singing career after her mother, Aduke, died of colon cancer.
Her
illness followed a bitter divorce with Mr Fernandez, which became
headline-making news for its very public division of assets, including
their many mansions,.
During
the 2004 divorce, it came to light how Mr Fernandez and Aduke had never
been legally married in their 20-year relationship, which was
previously unknown to her.
Mr
Fernandez had not divorced his prior wife until 1990, meaning he was
still married during their Nigerian wedding ceremony (and therefore it
was non-legally-biding).
Despite Mr Fernandez’s extreme
wealth, reports say that he fought tooth-and-nail to protect his assets
in his divorce from Aduke – even asking her to pay him back millions of
dollars for the renovations made to their shared residences.
At the time, an anonymous source told the Sunday Times:
‘Aduke believes she spent 20 years married to a man that has become her
enemy and that what she is going through now is an attempt to prevent
her existing without him.
‘He
has been presented as an honorable person who can do no wrong, while
Aduke is just the greedy wife. But the property in New York is owned
jointly and the château is in her name.’
Despite her legal battles, the Aduke tried to protect her children during her divorce.
Abimbola appears to maintain a close relationship with her father, and tweeted about spending Christmas with him in Belgium.
She sees her album’s release as an opportunity to prove her own potential.
‘People
think I’m exactly like Paris Hilton, that I do nothing, I don’t work
for myself, I don’t take my own money, I just spend my dad’s money, and
I’m a spoiled brat. I hope they’re not right.’
Daily Mail Reporter
