1. Muammar Gaddafi: $280 billion (£223bn)
Taking the top spot is Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. In 2011, officials estimated that the assassinated despot, who was in power from 1977 to 2011, stashed away $200 billion in secret bank accounts, shady investments, and suspect real estate deals, courtesy of the country’s massive oil revenues. In today’s money, that’s a staggering $280 billion (£223bn).
Gaddafi’s wealth was intended to go into a trust to help stabilise war-torn Libya, but the colonel continues to be controversial even in death, with his frozen funds generating cash for unknown beneficiaries. The whereabouts of much of his money remains a mystery.
2. Vladimir Putin: up to $258 billion (£205bn)
In 2021, Russian president Vladimir Putin’s official salary totalled 10.2 million rubles, around $100,000 (£79k).
However, he was reportedly worth up to $200 billion in 2017, according to former Hermitage Capital Management CEO Bill Browder, who revealed his estimate under oath to the US Senate Judiciary Committee. The money is allegedly tied up in numerous banks and investments in the West, though not always directly in his name. Adjusting for inflation, that’s the equivalent of $258 billion (£205bn) today.
3. Hosni Mubarak: $98.2 billion (£78.1bn)
Another disreputable leader who was overthrown following the Arab Spring protests, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak was removed from power in 2011 after serving for 30 years as the country’s president. That same year, ABC News and the Guardian alleged the politician had stolen $70 billion from the Egyptian people, or $98.2 billion (£78.1bn) today.
However, a report in the Washington Times suggests the sum could have been as much as an eye-watering $700 billion (£556bn).
4. Ali Abdullah Saleh: up to $82.6 billion (£65.7bn)
The president of Yemen from 1990 to 2012 was as corrupt as they come. Saleh was accused of stealing incredible sums of money from the Yemeni people before his ousting following the Arab Spring protests.
A report presented to the United Nations Security Council in 2015 pegged his net worth at up to $62 billion, or around $82.6 billion (£65.7bn) in today’s money.
5. Suharto: up to $58 billion (£46.1bn)
Suharto was president of Indonesia for 31 years until his resignation in 1998. The military despot, who in 2004 was named the most corrupt world leader of the previous 20 years by Transparency International, plundered up to $35 billion – the equivalent of $58 billion (£46.1bn) today – during his grip on power through a system his opponents dubbed as “corruption, collusion, nepotism”.
Suharto died in 2008.
6. Ferdinand Marcos: $53 billion (£42.1bn)
Ferdinand Marcos was president of the Philippines from 1972 to 1986. Together with his wife Imelda, who became infamous for her collection of over 3,000 high-end shoes, the despot embezzled hundreds of millions and, if reports are correct, up to $53 billion (£42.1bn) in today’s money went missing during his dictatorship.
7. Mahathir Mohamad: $40 billion (£31.8bn)
Formerly the world’s oldest sitting prime minister, Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad had a long stint in power from 1981 to 2003, and then again between 2018 and February 2020.
Via his proxy, Tun Daim Zainuddin, the elderly leader, who is now 99, is said to have at least $40 billion (£31.8bn) stashed away and is thought to have interests in 50 banks around the world.
8. Ibrahim Babangida: $27.9 billion (£22.2bn)
Another Nigerian leader who appropriated billions of the nation’s money, Ibrahim Babangida was president of the country from 1985 to 1993.
The shameless military general is believed to have laundered $12.4 billion off the back of Nigeria’s enormous oil windfall during the 1992 Gulf War, a huge $27.9 billion (£22.2bn) in today’s money.
9. José Eduardo dos Santos: $25.8 billion (£20.5bn)
The former president of Angola hoarded enormous sums of money when he was leader of the country from 1979 to 2017. Ignoring the plight of his poverty-stricken people, the late politician chose to enrich himself and his family instead and was worth an estimated $20 billion before his death, the equivalent of $25.8 billion (£20.5bn) today.
His daughter Isabel was Africa’s richest woman, but corruption charges and cases against her in three different countries have seen her assets frozen. Forbes no longer lists her among Africa’s richest people.
10. Mobutu Sese Seko: $15.2 billion (£12.1bn)
Mobutu Sese Seko was president of Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from 1965 to 1997. Just as free and easy with his people’s money as the other dictators in our round-up, the despotic leader helped himself to $5 billion, as estimated in 1984. That’s the equivalent of $15.2 billion (£12.1bn) in today’s money.
He owned palaces in Zaire and grand residences in Paris and Switzerland and was partial to pricey luxuries, including vintage rosé champagne.
11. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali: $14 billion (£11.1bn)
Loathed by his people, ex-Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is thought to have controlled between 30% to 40% of the nation’s economy during his time in power.
In 2011, the year he was ousted, the late president and his family held assets estimated to be worth around $10 billion, the equivalent of $14 billion (£11.1bn) in today’s money.
12. Adolf Hitler: $8 billion (£6.4bn)
The most reviled despot in history, Adolf Hitler swindled Germany out of billions. He also made millions from the sale of his book Mein Kampf.
According to the 2014 documentary The Hunt for Hitler’s Missing Millions, Hitler had a net worth equivalent to around $8 billion (£6.4bn) in today’s money.
13. Sani Abacha: $7.8 billion (£6.2bn)
Military despot Sani Abacha was the de facto leader of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. Widespread human rights abuses and endemic corruption marked his time in office.
Following the dictator’s demise, the Nigerian government discovered the tyrant had squirrelled away $4 billion in secret bank accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere. In today’s money, that’s a whopping $7.8 billion (£6.2bn).
14. Silvio Berlusconi: $6.8 billion (£5.4bn)
Italy’s prime minister for three terms in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, Silvio Berlusconi began his career in construction but entered the world of media in 1973, where he made his fortune.
The media mogul was also famous for his 31-year ownership of football club AC Milan and for being a convicted tax fraudster. Forbes estimated his net wealth to be $6.8 billion (£5.4bn) when he passed away in June 2023.
15. Donald Trump: $6.1 billion (£4.9bn)
America’s richest president ever is none other than Donald Trump. The real estate tycoon and media personality was rolling in money when he won the presidency for the first time in November 2016.
According to Forbes, Trump’s net worth hit $4.5 billion in 2016 and although it later declined to around $2.5 billion, his fortune has skyrocketed in the wake of his latest election win. Forbes now pegs his net worth at $6.1 billion (£4.9bn).
Source : Yahoo Finance
Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times”, shows – at least US$100 billion (RM470 billion) went missing during Mahathir’s
Mahathir Mohamad has run out of bullet to save his mega-rich children, whose dubious fortune were made during the former prime minister’s 22 years of dictatorship (1981-2003).
Worse, Mahathir is terrified – even panicked – that he would end up like Marcos, Mubarak, Gaffadi, Saddam Hussein and a long list of 20 notorious corrupt dictators who had gone “kaput and dead” but demonized instead of respected. As a living fossil, Mahathir is now powerless, alone, desperate, frustrated and whatnot, even though he can take some comfort that his family is rich beyond his dream.
When Pharaoh Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in 2011 after 30 years of iron-fist rule, the forner Egyptian president’s fortune was estimated at between US$40 billion and US$70 billion. However, the Washington Post said that based on documents published by top Egyptian lawyers, Mubarak’s clan may have squirreled away US$700 billion in “cash, gold and other state-owned valuables”.
The burning question is – how much was former dictator Mahathir’s fortune? We may not know the exact figure till the government of Anwar Ibrahim starts investigating, grilling and interrogating him and his children. That would take years for obvious reason. But we certainly can estimate the “ill-gotten gains” profited by the Malaysian’s longest-serving prime minister.
If Mahathir was as ruthless as Ben Ali, he would have pocketed a staggering US$55 billion (a quarter of Malaysia’s GDP, which was US$110 billion in 2003). And if based on Mubarak’s total wealth of US$70 billion over 30 years, Mahathir would have made some US$50 billion, or US$44 billion on the downside. Going into extreme like Gaddafi, Pharoah Mahathir could have accumulated US$100 billion.
Even if Mahathir was as conservative as Saddam in corruption, he would have easily made US$40 billion. Coincidentally, Saddam (24 years), Ben Ali (23 years) and Mahathir (22 years) had ruled about 20 years. One of the reasons why we can use Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Iraq’s former dictators to estimate Mahathir’s net worth is because all the countries are oil producers.
Yes, all the dictators had both hands in the cookie jar called national oil. The incredible rise of national oil company Petronas over the past half-century has solidified the firm’s position as a key pillar of the Malaysian economy, expanding its reach beyond Malaysia and allowing it to emerge as the nation’s sole Fortune Global 500 company. Its total assets in 2022 were a staggering US$158 billion.
Founded in 1974, Petronas’ oil and gas revenue initially contributed 7.8% to the government total revenue in 1975. However, it jumped to 19.8% in 1980, before skyrocketed to 29.9% in 1985 during the Mahathir administration when the premier began aggressively dipping his hands into the cash cow. Soon, there were dozens of “White Elephant” mega projects specially designed to promote corruption.
Within just 33 years (1974-2007), Petronas contributed RM500 billion (half a trillion) to the Malaysian government in dividends, taxes, petroleum proceeds and export duties. In addition, Petronas, which had to report to the Prime Minister’s Office, had to build what was then the tallest building – 36-storey Dayabumi – in the 1980s, followed by the 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers in the 1990s.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Putrajaya were built at an estimated cost of US$3.5 billion (RM10 billion) and US$8.1 billion (RM33.3 billion) respectively, not to mention Formula-1 race track and Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). While a handful projects can be considered useful and successful, most of Mahathir’s “pet projects” were disasters.
For example, Perwaja Steel, a US$465 million joint venture established in 1982 between HICOM and Nippon Steel Corporation was supposed to be the centerpiece of industrialization. However, it was plagued with mismanagement, production woes and a mountain of debt instead, so much so the Mahathir administration said it would swallow Perwaja’s RM9.9 billion in losses.
Proton (Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional), another industrial project, dominated the domestic market because it was protected by an average 200% tariff on imports of foreign-built cars. Yet, despite “Look East” policy, Proton’s technology partner Mitsubishi was merely using Proton to manufacture and market its own models in Malaysia, without any technology transfer at all to Malaysia.
Eventually, Mahathir’s national car project was acquired by Chinese Geely in 2017 (thanks to Najib). It was reported in 2016 that Proton had received RM13.9 billion in government subsidies since it was set up in 1983 in order to stay alive. Mahathir argued it must be continuously protected because it buys parts mostly from Malay vendors and employs almost only Malays.
During the 1997-1998 Asia Financial Crisis, PM Mahathir had to form a RM60 billion fund, sourced mainly from EPF, to bail out his cronies. As his privatization crumbled under the weight of incompetence, corruption and mismanagement during the crisis, companies like Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) was given soft “irrecoverable” loan amounted to RM1.4 billion, while MAS (Malaysia Airlines System) was also bailed out as it sat on a RM9.5 billion debt.
Other companies that enjoyed mega bailouts, just to name a few, included UEM, Malayan Banking, Bank Bumiputra, Sime Bank, KUB, Bank of Commerce, RHB Bank, Ekran’s Bakun Dam Project, Park May-Intrakota bus, Monorail, and even Konsortium Perkapalan Bhd – owned by Mahathir’s son Mirzan whose brilliant business acumen saw the company submerged in debts as much as RM1.7 billion.
Using “the biggest and the longest” marketing gimmick, Mahathir was an expert in splurging the revenue from the state oil company to build grand projects which were overpriced. Almost all the projects were awarded without open tenders to companies owned by either his cronies or proxies in exchange for favours or kickbacks. Exactly how much money had gone up in smoke?
As Barry Wain’s book,“Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times”, shows – at least US$100 billion (RM470 billion) went missing during Mahathir’s time as Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003. Of course, the missing money had been siphoned and diverted into the pockets as well as offshore bank accounts of the old fox and his biggest crony and financier – Daim Zainuddin.
That’s why Mahathir went ballistic when the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) seized the 60-storey Menara Ilham owned by the family of Daim. The tower, built at an estimated cost of US$580 million (RM2.7 billion), is the crown jewel of Daim’s fortune. With all of Daim’s known assets frozen, it effectively cut off Mahathir’s access to money required to overthrow PM Anwar Ibrahim.
Daim has claimed that had he remained in business instead of joining politics, the value of his asset would be more than RM50 billion. It was like saying if I had invested US$1,000 in Apple in 1980, it would be worth more than US$1.2 million today. Unless Daim is retarded, which obviously he is not, he decided to take up public office because it would allow him to make even more money through political connections and abuse of power.
The fact that he willingly gave up RM50 billion suggests that he had accumulated more than that as a finance minister. His wealth was so massive that he actually once owned a Swiss bank – ICB Banking Group – which operated approximately 222 branches and 130 ATMs worldwide. Under the banking group, it owned another 14 banks throughout Asia. In addition, he was reported to own at least RM65 billion worth of shares in Malaysia stock market.
Conservatively, Mahathir’s net worth estimation was between US$40 billion and US$50 billion, all the way to US$100 billion. And this is why he spewed racist venom – questioning ethnic Indians and Chinese’s loyalty to the country based on a twisted logic that they still want to identify themselves with their respective countries of origin. He was trying to divert attention from investigations over Daim’s wealth.
The Malays had dumped him in the Nov 2022 General Election, when he lost not only his Langkawi seat, but also his deposit. Imagine the Malays’ reaction if they discover how the former dictator had stolen so much treasure. Mahathir is throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, to ensure his extraordinary ill-gotten wealth remains a guarded secret by pretending to be the most loyal Malay citizen.
Source : Finance Twitter
The Coverage Malaysia
