Hoarders: Dictator Edition

From Saddam's risqué oil paintings to Teodorin's King of Pop trove, the quirky collections of the world's most notorious leaders.

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | OCTOBER 26, 2011

U.S. federal agents moved to seize the $30 million Malibu mansion of Teodoro "Teodorin" Nguema Obiang Mangue, son of Equatorial Guinea's strongman president this week, which happened to contain a host of luxury goods -- not least a $1.1 million collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia, including the King of Pop's "white crystal covered 'Bad Tour' glove" and his MTV Music Awards "moon man" trophy.

Whether it's tacky erotic art, fast cars, or fancy weapons, autocrats have often displayed something of a penchant for collecting.

SADDAM HUSSEIN

Country: Iraq

Collection: Fantasy art

In one of Saddam's mansions, U.S. forces uncovered what's been described as a "1960s-style love nest -- a mirrored bedroom, lamps shaped like women, and fantasy-art paintings featuring scantily-clad, bodacious women and buff warriors."

The Guardian's art critic, Jonathan Jones, was withering in his assessment: "They are from the universal cultural gutter. They look spraypainted, in a rampant hyperbolic style where all men are muscular, all women have giant breasts and missiles are metal cocks. These are art for the barely literate, or the barely sentient, dredged from some red-lit back alley of the brain." Jones described the paintings as evidence of a man "who seems on this evidence to have lived according to aestheticised, eroticised violence for which no one has yet come up with a better word than "fascism"."

Rowena Morell, the artist behind some of the paintings, was outraged as well, telling the New York Daily News, "I would give anything to get them back. I am so upset that they are there.... I don't like the idea of them being in that country.

 SUBJECTS:
 

Joshua E. Keating is an associate editor at Foreign Policy.

KUNINO

3:02 PM ET

October 27, 2011

Check your own home

As anybody who has cleared out the residence of a senior family member can tell you, a lot of crazy stuff can be found, much of it of an erotic nature.

How much more can be expected in the homes of folks with too much damn money and nobody caring to tell them that particular purchases would be unwise or unseemly.

A personal anecdote: some years ago, I had the good fortune to travel his homeland with a noted Taiwanese master of martial arts. To convey their respect for the guy -- some students, sober men of advanced years, had been prostrating themselves on the dusty local train station platform on his arrival -- he and I were given the best suite that night in a good local hotel. We were both startled to see beside lamps in the shapes of naked young women, a bathroom entirely tiled in shiny black with illumination from a backlit stained-glass ceiling seeming to portray Adam and Eve in Eden, and in a state of nature. Adam, I recall, had not been circumcized.

After looking for some minutes through features of what obviously was usually offered as the bridal suite, I commented to my fellow guest that "It seems a pity, Master Wu, that you are not a beautiful woman." He was highly amused, and so I live to tell the tale. An ex-army man, he was probably feeling the same way about me. Had some calamity ensued that night -- an earthquake, the arrival of a SEAL unit -- doubtless our wives would have been puzzled to read in the next day's newspapers that we'd been found sharing a love nest. As it happened, the way I fell asleep in the suite very late that night was lying in a single bed, alone, watching the shadows of flying Chinese men flowing across the walls and ceilings, giggling as quietly as possible so as not to disturb me. A courteous race, with some remarkable skills. They were exercising and training some hours after a lavish and abstemious Chinese banquet.

 

HIJAKK

4:12 PM ET

October 27, 2011

Qaddafi's gun

Just to gun-nerd out: The gun in the picture, and the other pictures I've seen of the gun he had the day he died, are actually a Browning High Power. Another JMB design, but in 9mm with a doublestack magazine, instead of the 1911's single stack .45ACP design.

 

FSILBER

9:49 AM ET

October 28, 2011

Khadaffy and Ms. Rice

Kahdaffy's obsession with Condoleeza Rice sounds weird and creepy, but also kinda sweet.

 

OLSON46

10:05 AM ET

November 17, 2011

There's no accounting for taste

Thanks for this informative article. Saddam had quite a questionable taste in "fantasy art". King Farouk had some swank and class. Kim Jong Il had a secret penchant for "Western" goods. The Shah Pahlavi liked classic cars. And Gaddafi definitely had some bad taste in women.

Wonderful research here Mr. Keating.
Lisa

 

PATRICIAMOORE

11:45 AM ET

November 21, 2011

Memorabilia from Equatorial Guinea Official

So hypocritical of Washington to do something now after endorsing the illicit business activities of those cleptomaniacs (the very first group of Equatorial Guinea) for a long time. You cannot sleep having a criminal then change and tell the planet we now have zero tolerance for such behavior. This option had the endorsement from the beltway girls for a long time. Why the modification of heart now. Could they be being a political liability to Washington now or what?

 

DOMINOES

3:59 PM ET

November 21, 2011

bizarre stuff indeed

This goes to show how messed up all of these dictators really are...not that we didn't know this before, but look at all of the twisted hobbies they have. My favorite was Gaddafi and his fascination with Condolezza Rice, he called her "the blackflower of the whitehouse"....creepy! This guy was nuts and now the world is clear of this guy, but we still need some serious stye remedies to help remove some of the bad remnants of these guys.

 

SOFIA MIKKELSENDP

2:20 PM ET

November 22, 2011

Thank you for sharing

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THOMAS_CANON

4:51 AM ET

November 25, 2011

Great article post

Great article post After i'm looking for some minutes through features of what obviously was usually offered as the bridal suite We were both startled to see beside lamps in the shapes of naked young women, black friday hostgator I hope you keep it up Thanks again.

 

JOHNNPARKER

7:33 AM ET

November 25, 2011

Kim Jong Il

Kim Jong Il is just wack!

According to state-run media, Kimg Jong Il is the most prominent statesman in the present world, and people in countries the whole planet over celebrate his birthday with films and festivals. In reality, most nations are confused by his erratic foreign policy decisions on important issues such as N. Korea’s nuclear program.

Also, in 1994, it was reported by Pyongyang media outlets that Kim Jong Il shot 38 under par on a regulation 18-hole golf course – including 5 holes in one! That score is 25 shots better than the best round in history, and is made even more amazing by the fact that it was his first time playing the sport. It’s said Kim Jong Il would routinely sink 3 or 4 holes in one per round of golf, and – lucky for the PGA – he has since given it up. single parents

 

CORTES

9:05 AM ET

November 25, 2011

They are humans after all and

They are humans after all and with fantasies. With the cash from plunder, the dictators are the ultimate collectors of very strange items like their own strange state of minds.

 

FRANKPATRICE

9:53 AM ET

November 25, 2011

according to this I am sceptical

Actually, according to state-runs media Kimg Jong Il is the most prominent statesman in the present world.
People in countries over the whole planet are celebrating his birthday with films and festivals! But in reality,most nations are confused by his erratic foreign policy decisions on important issues such as N. Koreas nuclear program.., something to keep in mind! I am looking at him a bit sceptical for sure.

 

PRELIOCIVEDE

1:04 PM ET

November 25, 2011

kim jong il has a lot of

kim jong il has a lot of strength and if you really look at it, he's gaining power the same ways all of western europe and usa got it...by force and by exploiting and? tricking people.....he deserves to die as much as george washington or christopher columbus deserved to die and if you want to see evil look at your skin and look up the history of what happened to free sport bets people with that skin at the expense of different coloured people....is not that evil?

 

DANIELAB

1:05 PM ET

November 25, 2011

Kim Jung il is much like

Kim Jung il is much like Hitler...he is a genius but? just uses his military, strengths and power for the wrong thing. What makes him so popular and well known is the fact that he is lucky. He is the second generation of dictators so he didnt have to do much to take power and such, I think that what he does is wrong bet365 bonus code, but still he does this "wrong" really well.