The 10 most decadent dictators

September 05, 2008
The 10 most decadent dictators
The Times Online

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 Jong-il has super-expensive tastes, with 17 palaces and collections of hundreds of cars and about 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"
Car-buying spree for Kim Jong Il

2. Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines, 1965 - 1986. The Second World War 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
Marcos: a headache that won't go away

3. Nicolae Ceausescu, President of Romania, 1967 - 1989. The "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
And how is your family, Mr Ceausescu?

4. Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan, 1990 - 2006. The President for Life and "Turkmenbashi", or Father of all Turkmen, was at the centre of an awesome cult of personality. His vanity projects included a £6 million revolving gold-plated statue of himself in the country's capital, Ashgabat. He shifted around £3 billion to overseas accounts, renamed the month of January (after himself), banned beards and ordered that his musings be displayed alongside the Koran in mosques

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. He also spent millions on a super-lavish lifestyle - maintaining a reported 30 mistresses as well as five wives and fathering at least 43 children. A typically mad-capped project was the creation of a personal bodyguard of bagpipe-playing 6ft 4in Scotsmen
More on Amin

6. Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, 1922 - 1953. The "Gardener of Human Happiness" and "Brilliant Genius of Humanity" was celebrated in his lifetime in thousands of stylised statues and monuments erected across the Soviet Union - many of which were moved or destroyed in later "de-Stalinisation" drives. He also had a taste for palaces, booze and cigars and preferred to travel by armour-plated private train with a Tsarist-style entourage
Obituary: Joseph Stalin

7. Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Persia, 1941 - 1979. The "King of Kings" and "Sun of the Aryans" spent a reported $100 million on celebrations for the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian monarchy in 1971, serving breast of peacock on Limoges china to dignitaries in a 160-acre tent city at Persepolis - close to poor villages. His superb collection of sports cars can be seen at the National Car Museum of Iran, alongside custom models by Mercedes-Benz and Porsche for his son, the Crown Prince
Goose step climax to Persepolis parade

8. Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq, 1979 - 2003. The Baathist leader with a fondness for gold-plated bathroom fittings, and Kalashnikovs, rebuilt Babylon on kitsch rather than authentic lines, stamping each brick of the "reconstruction" with his own name in the manner of Nubachadnezzar, the ancient Babylonian king and conqueror of Jerusalem. His playboy eldest son Uday, meanwhile, kept a private zoo with lions and cheetahs at his Baghdad residence and owned a collection of 1,200 luxury cars
Letter from Baghdad: Saddam Hussein

9. Mobutu Sese Soku, President of Zaire, 1965 - 1997. Siphoning his country's wealth into Swiss bank accounts was a speciality of the "All-Powerful Warrior", whose personal fortune was estimated at $5 billion in 1984 - then equivalent to Zaire's national debt. Mobutu's extravagances included palaces and pink champagne, yachts and shopping trips to Paris by chartered Concorde. His second wife Bobi Ladawa rivalled Imelda Marcos as a compulsive spender - with a reported 1,000-dress wardrobe
Mobutu-a personal portrait

10. Suharto, President of Indonesia, 1967 - 1998. The former bank clerk 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
Investigation pledged in Suharto scandal

List compiled by Mark Bridge

Shopping

This weekend was just coming to grips with Yvonne moving back to Singapore. We had an outing at the airport.



It was very fun yesterday. I went Lai Chi Kok for shopping at wholesale prices. Then had Qing and Kel over for Entourage.



Today would be housework day with dog walking and cooking and F1 match. Back to work tomorrow, and I suspect next week is quiet

Put your hands on the ground!

This week was a whirlwind again. So many things, just thinking. i yearn for the peace and quiet sometimes. This is not to be considered in the same thread as Julie and Gerald were over for the weekend. It was so nice to see them. We pretty much hung out on Friday dinner and Sat Mongkok. We had bursting beef balls at Lok Yuen King of Beef Balls stall at Fa Yuen Kai on Saturday! For some reason, we were talking about hair colours, like how her being a red head in college days had brought her lots of attention, and how the girls with dyed brown hair on the streets look like party animals compared to those in black hair.

Something that kept me up on Saturday night and Sunday was Friday's party. It spelled so much of Sex, Power & Money. Tattoos, drinking, casual sex. I was a little fazed, but I think after a run, that will just be another experience that I have gained. Meeting some more decent friends on Sunday, i was glad that my sentiments are echoed. In wrapping up that Friday night, other than the vices i have seen, it was also a little on jobs. Speaking to Des on Sat and Daniel on Friday, i realised that banks don't do enough training, and for front office, the skillset to be able to contribute to a team is more valuable than grades. Of course, networking and age of an individual should never be underestimated. In HK, i feel that my competition is not the locals. Local educators have been blamed, as an education system that does not promote individual thought and problem solving has left banks struggling. The solution, is overseas hires or local talent, educated overseas. Banks search for candidates with local knowledge who are also a good cultural fit with their organisations. They are considered to have the “right” education, which is invaluable when combined with the ability to speak English, Cantonese and sometimes Mandarin. A candidate who can offer all this, as well as good presentation and an ability to lead rather than follow, is likely to find themselves with plenty of offers on the table.

Also another thing on my mind is going home 13-21 Sept. I was just glancing through the pricings for air tickets: SQ and CX have this HKD2599 offer that lasts for maximum of 7 days stay. JetStar going for HKD2322, fitting my timeline perfectly. I have not booked it yet, though i will consider somethings before I make that click.

Obviously I would have family and friend commitments when I am back home, that aside, I am definitely considering a hair cut. Long or short hair has always been of circumstance. In H&M magazine, short hair seems to be just about the most hyped about hair style, and no surprise, Agyness Deyn came up tops as the epitome of happy-go-lucky tomboy attitude! I see most girls in HK and SG with long hair, its very pretty, and nice to play on the power of seduction quite easily. Also I remember Mink told me that one must have the bold personality to go with it if you choose to cut your hair off.

How much do you earn? I hear that quite a lot from my SG friends when they come over. Mostly they see that restaurants and rent are not all that cheap. The fact is that thats all I largely spend on. And my facials. Depending on the income disparity and standard of living between HK and SG and China in the next year, we would see an interesting trend. Considering that HK is largely used as a transit point, I should move on to a bigger city such as New York or back to SG. If you are still curious, I suggest you check out ambition or michael page salaries report. I also looked at the Legal Salaries, and now i understand why the local chicks would throw themselves at these lawyers. They are very well-paid! I also understand why they carry nice new blackberry Curve and party and drink so much - because they CAN!

I think i have spent enough time mulling on the above issues, its time to let go and move on!

My Yummy Sweets

I needed a break, I was going crazy with the amount of thinking i was doing. Hence the schokolade!

No more gunpowder

Invested time in reading about what I am interested in.

http://www.risklatte.com/madeSimple/

Why Monte Carlo Simulation? MC vs Binomial? Difference between pricing Futures & Fwds? Understanding Gamma & Delta? What is Skew?

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

I am tired. i keep fighting and trying and pushing.

I want to go home. I want to spend my birthday back with my family and friends.

I miss everyone.

now now

Two weeks have passed, and today is the Olympic closing ceremony, such a glittery affair involving the human spirit, technology, and most importantly, the sheer dominance of the Chinese will. In the sporting arena, The Beijing Olympics 2008 has set new standards in the realm of the human mind, ability and endurance, and gave the world the hope for an Asian revolution.

The past week was a whirlwind because Monday colleagues from another desk in same was closed down by the end of the month. And I have two real opportunites which i have to close asap. And then it is down to the grind for next year's pipeline.

I had a date with an American A&O lawyer today. He was "won" from the Charity auction, and it was very pleasant. Great view at the Four Seasons, great conversation flowing. Seems like I will be seeing more of him.

Week ahead, I have to set the stage CMB and SCB. Of course support issues are side issues. Meanwhile, i have to keep pushing my agenda for these two.

Long term goals on my mind
- Study Masters or CFA
- Plan for trips - Sg or Next year
- I am going to forget about Flatsharing. I want to focus on my work
- Read up more!
- I have to plan my time more effectively. Manage my taxes and expenses well too!

Quotes from an Olympian

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emil Zátopek was a Czech athlete probably best known for his amazing feat of winning three gold medals in athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5 km and 10 km runs, but his final medal came when he decided at the last minute to compete in the first marathon of his life.
Zátopek was the first athlete to break the 29-minute barrier in the 10 km run (in 1954). Three years earlier, in 1951, he had broken the hour for running 20 km. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest runners of the 20th century and was also known for his brutally tough training methods.
"Essentially, we distinguish ourselves from the rest. If you want to win something, run the 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon."
Upon winning: "But it was the finest exhaustion I've ever felt."

Muhammad Ali: To date, he remains the only man to have won the linear heavyweight championship three times (the linear title is recognized by tracing an - almost - unbroken lineage of titleholders going back over 100 years, with nearly every champion defeating the previous titleholder in the ring).
"He floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee"

Robert KorzeniowskiPoland (POL) completed the 50km walk in 3:42.22in Sydnet 2000 games. Korzeniowski is a three-peat winner of the 50 km walk at the Summer Olympics. He won 1996 in Atlanta, 2000 in Sydney, and 2004 in Athens. In addition, he became the first athlete to claim both the long distance and the short distance crown, when he won the 20 km title at the 2000 games.

Ray Ewry (United States)
Gold: standing high jump, 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908; standing long jump, 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908; standing triple jump, 1900, 1904
Ewry’s story is special. He began exercising after being confined to wheelchair through polio as a child.