--- description: South Sudan's leaders responsible for the atrocities in country's conflict have amassed vast fortunes according to the Sentry title: George Clooney: South Sudan Leaders Have Amassed Fortunes image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb3d7fe5e94111e0/6988a584524fc05b7adf970b/southsudan.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [South Sudan](/tag/south-sudan/) ## South Sudan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # George Clooney Helps Reveal How South Sudan's Civil War Has Enriched Leaders by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 9:44 PM CUTPublished: Sep 12, 2016 12:06 PM CUT  First Vice President of South Sudan and former rebel leader, Riek Machar (L), and President Salva Kiir (R), sit for an official photo with the 30 members of the new cabinet of the Transitional Government at the Cabinet Affairs Ministry, in Juba on April 29, 2016. First Vice President of South Sudan and former rebel leader, Riek Machar (L), and President Salva Kiir (R), sit for an official photo with the 30 members of the new cabinet of the Transitional Government at the Cabinet Affairs Ministry, in Juba on April 29, 2016.ALBERT GONZALEZ FARRAN—AFP/Getty Images by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 9:44 PM CUTPublished: Sep 12, 2016 12:06 PM CUT [South Sudanese](http://time.com/4349278/south-sudan-shipping-containers-prison/ "undefined") leaders responsible for atrocities in the country’s violent civil war have amassed vast fortunes during the conflict, according to a new report by an initiative co-founded by actor George Clooney. [The Sentry](https://thesentry.org/reports/south-sudan/ "undefined")‘s two-year investigation found that the families and top generals of conflict’s main opponents, President Salva Kiir Mayardit and deposed Vice President Riek Machar, stay in five-star hotels, own luxury cars and live in multi-million dollar mansions in Kenya, Uganda and Australia. According to the report, they reap the benefits of a system of nepotism “all while much of their country’s population suffers from the consequences of a brutal civil war, and in many places, experiences near-famine conditions.” The report also accuses the two leaders of benefitting “financially from the continuing war and have effectively ensured that there is no accountability for their human rights violations and financial crimes.” In an [Washington _Post_ editorial](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/clooney-and-prendergast-war-crimes-shouldnt-pay-in-south-sudan/2016/09/11/984b67da-7612-11e6-b786-19d0cb1ed06c%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.b5af7ad30bb2 "undefined"), Clooney and _The Sentry_ co-founder John Prendergast suggest a new approach to “counter mass atrocities” in the world’s youngest country: “The essence of a new strategy would combine readily available anti-money-laundering measures with targeted sanctions focused on top regime officials and their international facilitators, while encouraging banks to help provide essential services to innocent South Sudanese.” After achieving independence in 2011, the country plunged into civil war when Kiir Mayardit accused Machar of plotting the coup. Fighting between both sides grew into an ethnically influenced conflict that has displaced millions and killed thousands. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4487227/south-sudan-fortunes-civil-war-george-clooney/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4487227/south-sudan-fortunes-civil-war-george-clooney/"},"headline":"George Clooney Helps Reveal How South Sudan's Civil War Has Enriched Leaders","datePublished":"2016-09-12T12:06:29.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-14T21:44:50.000Z","description":"The findings of a new report come from The Sentry, an initiative co-founded by actor George Clooney","url":"https://time.com/4487227/south-sudan-fortunes-civil-war-george-clooney/","keywords":["South Sudan"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb3d7fe5e94111e0/6988a584524fc05b7adf970b/southsudan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara John","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-john/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb3d7fe5e94111e0/6988a584524fc05b7adf970b/southsudan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"First Vice President of South Sudan and former rebel leader, Riek Machar (L), and President Salva Kiir (R), sit for an official photo with the 30 members of the new cabinet of the Transitional Government at the Cabinet Affairs Ministry, in Juba on April","caption":"First Vice President of South Sudan and former rebel leader, Riek Machar (L), and President Salva Kiir (R), sit for an official photo with the 30 members of the new cabinet of the Transitional Government at the Cabinet Affairs Ministry, in Juba on April","creditText":"ALBERT GONZALEZ FARRAN—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/south-sudan/","name":"South Sudan"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4487227/south-sudan-fortunes-civil-war-george-clooney/","name":"George Clooney Helps Reveal How South Sudan's Civil War Has Enriched Leaders"}}]}] ```