Posted on 09/06/2008 12:41:49 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
The 10 most decadent dictators
A revolving gold statue, pink champagne and a "Pleasure Brigade" of nubile retainers all feature in Times Money's list of history's most decadent dictators. While their people suffered, these men - and sometimes their wives and children - agonised over how best to spend their ill-gotten gains...
1. Kim Jong-il, "Dear Leader" of North Korea since 1994. The son of the communist state's "Great Leader" Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il has super-expensive tastes, with 17 palaces, and collections of hundreds of cars and around 20,000 video tapes. On one state visit to Russia, he reportedly had live lobsters airlifted daily to his armoured private train. He is believed to spend around $650,000 a year on Hennessy VSOP cognac and maintains an entourage of young lovelies known as the "Pleasure Brigade"
2. Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines, 1965 - 1986. The Second World freedom-fighter turned kleptocrat secreted billions of dollars in overseas accounts. His wife Imelda, however, was the big spender, leaving 888 handbags and 1060 pairs of shoes in the Malacanang presidential palace when the family fled mob justice after Marcos was deposed. Her pricier purchases included the $51 million Crown Building and $61 million Herald Centre in New York and art by Michelangelo and Botticelli
3. Nicolae Ceausescu, President of Romania, 1967 - 1989. The "Geniul din Carpati", or Genius of the Carpathians, was congratulated (by telegram) by Salvador Dali on his excesses, which included his use of a kingly sceptre. Despite an official salary of just $3,000, he found the cash for 15 palaces, a superb car collection, yachts, fine art and bespoke suits. Tens of thousands of homes were demolished to make space for his 1,100-room, 480-chandelier Palace of the Parliament in the capital, Bucharest
(Excerpt) Read more at timesbusiness.typepad.com ...
Ping!
1. Kim Jong-il, “Dear Leader” of North Korea since 1994.
2. Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines, 1965 - 1986.
3. Nicolae Ceausescu, President of Romania, 1967 - 1989.
4. Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan, 1990 - 2006.
5. Idi Amin, President of Uganda, 1971 - 1979.
6. Joseph Stalin, Leader of the Soviet Union, 1922 - 1953.
7. Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Persia, 1941 - 1979.
8. Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq, 1989 - 2003.
9. Mobutu Sese Soku, President of Zaire, 1965 - 1997.
10. Suharto, President of Indonesia, 1967 - 1998.
I am intrigued as to who does not make it. They get a few of them right such as Saddam and Kim jong il
Where is Pol Pot?
Where is Mao?
Where is Castro?
Where is Mugabe?
Why isn’t Barack Hussein Obama included on this list?
Oh, I forgot, Obama hasn’t been Elected yet by Acclaimation!
Toss in Nancy Pelosi, the Tyrant of the US House of Representatives, the ultimate luxury limousine liberal scumbag.
Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe since 1980.
Dressed up in Drag and protesting with Code Pink.
Whoa, that is really hideous!
“money can buy stuff, but stuff ain’t classy”, thats what my momma always said.
Fidel Castro should be on the list.
And the top all-time should have been Bokassa I from the Central African Empire (now the Central African Republic)
10 most evil, yes, but as far as I know, none of those except Mugabe were known to live exceptionally decadent lifestyles.
It does look decidedly french at that.
Credit where due, though, AFAIK, Mugabe never actually ate any of his opponents (unlike Idi Amin)...
Caligula?
May I present Idi Amin... biggest freakin' moron in history...
If anyone hasn’t seen it yet, I highly recommend “The Last King of Scotland.”
" ... "
Yes, it is.
That’s not Mugabe’s house; it’s a house in California used for photo shoots.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/architecture/mugabe.asp
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