1.Kim Jong-il, one of the communist state's "Great Leaders"
Lil’ Kim has super-expensive tastes, loves a bit of ting tong and is doing wonders for the seafood industry:
• 17 palaces and collections of hundreds of cars
• 20,000 video tapes.
• Live lobsters airlifted daily to his armoured private train
• $650,000 spent a year on Hennessy VSOP cognac
• Pleasure Brigade - his entourage of young lovelies
2. Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines, 1965 - 1986
Ferd was a bit of a kleptocrat who stashed the cash by the billions in overseas accounts. But wifey Imelda was even more illustrious. One helluva big spender, she had a severe addiction to Manolos:
• 1060 pairs of shoes
• 888 handbags
• $51 million Crown Building
• $61 million Herald Centre in New York
• Art by Michelangelo and Botticelli
3. Nicolae Ceausescu, President of Romania, 1967 – 1989
A big fan of social housing, Nic had tens of thousands of homes demolished to make space for his 1,100-room, 480-chandelier Palace in Bucharest. Congratulated by Salvador Dali on his excesses – how surreal!
• Used a kingly sceptre.
• Owned 15 palaces,
• Had a superb car collection, yachts, fine art and bespoke suits
4. Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan, 1990 - 2006
Ah Saps – AKA goldfinger! Arch narcissist and champion of Gillette. His made a £6 million revolving gold-plated statue of himself in the country's capital, Ashgabat and banned beards!
• Shifted £3 billion to overseas accounts,
• Renamed the month of January (after himself)
5. Idi Amin, President of Uganda, 1971 - 1979
The "Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea", "Emperor of Uganda" and "King of Scotland" awarded himself the VC, or Victorious Cross, and CBE, or Conqueror of the British Empire. Idi da da made a close friend of insanity and kept severed heads well beyond their sell-by date in his fridge. Least likely to say “pass me a condom!”
• Spent millions on a super-lavish lifestyle
• 30 mistresses
• 5 wives
• 43 children
• Personal bodyguard of bagpipe-playing 6ft 4in Scotsmen
6. Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, 1922 – 1953
The "Gardener of Human Happiness" and "Brilliant Genius of Humanity" and a big supporter of Self Love courses celebrated himself with thousands of stylised statues and monuments erected across the Soviet Union. Put the 'me' into communism. Joe baby also had a taste for:
• Palaces, booze and cigars
• Travelling by armour-plated private train with a Tsarist-style entourage
7. Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Persia, 1941 - 1979
Lovely generous Mo the Show - The "King of Kings" spent a reported $100 million on celebrations for the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian monarchy, serving breast of peacock on Limoges china to dignitaries in a 160-acre tent city at Persepolis - close to poor villages. Nice!
• Owned a fleet sports cars plus custom models made by Mercedes-Benz and Porsche for his son, the Crown Prince
8. Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq, 1979 - 2003
Old Saddam was ‘hanging’ and loved a bit of bling. He had fondness for gold-plated bathroom fittings, and Kalashnikovs. He rebuilt Babylon on kitsch rather than authentic lines, stamping each brick of the "reconstruction" with his own name in the manner of Nubachadnezzar. Playboy Son Uday, kept a private zoo with lions and cheetahs at his Baghdad residence and owned a collection of 1,200 luxury cars. Had a predisposition to bumping off relatives – by throwing them to the lions! Suppose you could call it recycling!
9. Mobutu Sese Soku, President of Zaire, 1965 – 1997
Siphoning his country's wealth into Swiss bank accounts to spend on palaces and pink champagne was old Mobu’s speciality.
His personal fortune was estimated at $5 billion in 1984 - then equivalent to Zaire's national debt. Second wife, Bobi Ladawa modelled herself on Imelda with a 1,000-dress wardrobe.
• Owned palaces and yachts
• Made shopping trips to Paris by chartered Concorde.
10. Suharto, President of Indonesia, 1967 – 1998
The former bank clerk ( no surprise there) embezzled more money than any other leader in history, according to Transparency International. In 1999, Time Asia put his family's wealth at $15 billion. Playboy son "Tommy" was the biggest-profile spender - lavishing money on cars and clothes and buying a majority stake in Lamborghini before a conviction for murder in 2002. Suharto's daughter "Tutut", meanwhile, spent $100,000 on one shopping flight to the US. Ah bless – guess she was misunderstood!
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