Bizarre Stuff You Never Knew Dictators Collected

Saddam spent lavishly on everything purchasable, from gold toilets to cheetahs. Saddam collected more than anything else.Saddam collected palaces.He owned 70 to 100 monstrous mansions, one in every major Iraqi city. His eight main palaces held over 1,000 buildings and covered 12 square miles.

North Korea's dictator, Kim Jong-il, spent a lot on luxury goods from 1994 to 2011. He also bought 30,000 DVDs and tapes of Hollywood films. Kim also collected priceless titles. As a cult of personality leader, official superlatives always preceded Kim's name.

During his four brutal years as President of Ukraine,Viktor Yanukovych censored the press, imprisoned opponents, and cut benefits for Chernobyl cleanup workers. He took massive bribes, enriching himself with a private palace.

Iran's last Shah before the Islamic Revolution, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, took speed to extreme levels. Pahlavi, deposed in 1979, owned 3,000 cars, ranging fromAmerican muscle carsto a Rolls Royce from 1908, a Mercedes owned by Hitler, and unique European models built just for him.

Muammar al-Gaddafi loved shiny things like Goldfinger. His palaces were filled with gold trappings, from railings to cutlery to toilets. He even had a gold-dipped flyswatter. When rebels captured and killed the Libyan dictator, they found him with a gold-plated Browning 9mm pistol, showing his brutal opulence.

The Ugandan tyrant, Idi Amin, faced terror and derision for good reasons. After seizing power in 1971, Amin began decorating himself with medals showing a military career he lacked. Amin collected fake bravery citations like people collect shot glasses, awarding himself honors he never earned or that did not exist.

While Hitler spent lavishly on typical dictator trappings like palaces and cars, he also collectedrare booksMost books were German nationalist works or poetry, but also classic novels, memoirs, cheap detective stories, and American-style Westerns. Hitler kept books with him constantly, and piles of them existed in his residences; a stack of books was found near his body in the Berlin bunker.

Imelda Marcos, wife of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, played a major role in his administration. They called their relationship the "conjugal dictatorship," and she managed most of the spending in the marriage. She spent lavishly on jewelry, a thousand purses, and luxury food. She reportedly once made her private plane turn back to Rome mid-flight because she forgot to buy cheese.

Stalin viewed himself as both an artist and a military leader. He enjoyed films and owned a huge collection of film prints, especially many American Westerns.American WesternsStalin screened John Ford's Westerns constantly. He disliked John Wayne's strong anti-Communism. Stalin considered having the Duke assassinated.

Kim Jong-un has made up for lost time since taking power in 2011. Watchers of the Hermit Kingdom estimate Kim spends nearly a billion dollars annually—that's more than North Korea's GDP. Beyond cars, a yacht, a ski resort, alcohol, Danish pork, and Iranian caviar, Kim reportedly bought at leastKim Jong-un bought three dozen grand pianos.

The former Indonesian strongman is called the most corrupt leader in modern history. He looted his country for $15 to $35 billion. He did this by setting up a system of kickbacks. He gave these kickbacks to family and cronies from state-owned companies. These companies "donated" money to dozens offake charitable foundations.Suharto set up these fake charitable foundations. He used them as bank accounts to fund his lavish spending.