The World’s Worst Sons

The troublesome progeny giving headaches to some of the most powerful leaders on the planet.

BY JOSHUA KEATING | JULY 24, 2009

KIM JONG NAM

HO/AFP/Getty Images

Dad: North Korean leader Kim Jong Il

Age: 38

Bad behavior: Growing up can’t be easy when your father is an eccentric, nuclear-armed egomaniac, especially knowing that your actress mother was forced to divorce her husband and marry him after the Dear Leader got a crush. You can’t really blame Kim Jong Nam for wanting to get away for a while, but an ill-advised trip to Disneyland proved to be the prodigal son’s downfall.
In 2001, Nam, along with his wife and son, was arrested at Tokyo’s Narita airport for trying to enter Japan with a fake Dominican passport bearing the name Pang Xiong, which means “Fat Bear” in Chinese. He reportedly told police, "I wanted to go to Disneyland."

The incident was a major humiliation for Nam’s father, who at the time was riding a rare wave of good press after a visit to Europe and a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Nam was reportedly being groomed as a possible successor, but fell out of favor after his failed bid to meet Mickey. Nam’s younger brother Kim Jong Un is reportedly now next in line.

A man believed to be Nam gave an interview to a Japanese TV station while on a gambling vacation in Macau last month and said he is “not interested” in who will become ruler. Nam denied he had been exiled, saying he was just in Macau for fun.

 SUBJECTS:
 

Joshua Keating is deputy Web editor at FP.

NEOMARTIAN

9:27 AM ET

July 26, 2009

Rogue princes

Fantastic article. Wish the list included at least 10 persons. Anyhow, it was a nice read.

 

ASIA_SHOOTER

11:04 AM ET

July 26, 2009

Corruption Kids

Very nice article Joshua, but how in the hell did Tommy Suharto not
head the list?

 

RICHD

7:03 AM ET

July 27, 2009

Hu Haifeng

Hu Haifeng's inclusion seems a bit of a stretch - the Namibian bribery case is tit-for-tat between Rio Tinto and China. Rio Tinto has a majority stake in the Rossing Uranium mine in Namibia, a significant part of the Namibian economy. I am sure it is using its leverage with the Namibian government to directly target the Chinese leadership to back off their corruption case against Rio Tinto in China. Hu Haifeng is just a pawn in this.

 

DEMONIZEDCHINA

7:20 PM ET

July 27, 2009

Yes, demoinzed it

The author is just intended to demonize China and its leaders. We all want to demonized China and act like we are the most moral nation on the earth, don't we?

 

TWOFLOWER

9:11 AM ET

July 28, 2009

demonizing China

So true! I have spent many years only believing a tenth of what I read in the western press about China and other 'foes'. Then I went to China a couple of years back. It was then I realised even the 1/10th was rubbish as well. As a citizen of a well off western democracy (Australia) I discovered I could quite cheerfully live in China amongst the Chinese, not in the wealthy areas, I cannot afford that, but with the middle/lower working classes. I communicate very regularly over the internet with these 'poor repressed' Chinese and still can't seem to find how or where they are repressed.
I was 'adopted' by a chinese girl and her friends, all strugglers economically, and their lifestyle resembles that of the younger Australians quite closely except i) they are actually prepared to get a job and ii) they are much more cheerful and happy than the Australian youth.
I cannot wait to get back, only the airfares are stopping me.

 

JG

5:41 AM ET

August 12, 2009

I have also lived and worked

I have also lived and worked in Shanghai for a few years......

You are mistaken or have been sheltered in your PRC experience, apparently, enjoying a good time and a warm-hearted family in the PRC. Chinese tend to treat foreigners like rock stars. I have enjoyed the party atmosphere throughout the city and the country. I have sat and drank in the one room apartments of the not so fortunate.

Yet there is clearly suppression and oppression going on. I lost one of my engineers to goverment religious threats and now granted asylum in the US. I have traveled all around China including Tibet and have seen first hand the cloak of oppression. I also have Chinese friends who I confer with and they have many times steered me away from potential political situations that would cause them to lose face. No doubt they are a proud people but they are utmost a communist country.....and I am very familiar with communist oppression coming from a communist oppressed family.

China can be reflected in two flowers..... the lotus they present.....and the Rafflesia

Not saying the open society of USA is all good....It clearly has its darkness and issues.

You may think that stories in western papers highlighting PRC's suppressive activities is rubbish and maybe it takes that kind of attitude to make progress towards harmony, but denial is like rice paper.....translucent and easily torn