What a tough couple of months its been for the autocratic regimes of of the Middle East. Who would have thought that a frustrated Tunisian fruit vendor who had been trampled on by his government for the last time, would light himself on fire and start a revolution spanning 11 Middle Eastern countries.
So how much wealth have these autocratic, and presumably corrupt, leaders amassed for themselves and their families?... I did a little digging around, and though its difficult to verify how accurate any of these numbers are, here are some of the figures I came across:
Hosni Mubarak -- According to U.S. intelligence estimates, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his family are believed to have a fortune ranging from $1 billion to $5 billion, a significantly lower figure than most estimates of the wealth accumulated by Mubarak during his 30 years in power. Most of his money is believed to be stashed away in foreign banks, real estate and business holdings.
Muammar Gaddafi -- The current (for now at least) Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who has ruled the country for over 40 years and his family are believed to a fortune of approximately $20 billion. Again this figure comes from intelligence sources and is far below some recent rumors that peg his wealth at over $100 billion. The primary vehicle for his wealth accumulation has come from the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), a $70 billion sovereign wealth fund whose founding purpose was to diversify Libya’s oil dependent economy.
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali -- The ex-Tunisian President whose downfall got the whole revolution started, was estimated to have amassed wealth exceeding $5 billion. His family’s fortune was amassed amid a more mafia-style form of corruption, where they demanded significant stakes in most of the country’s shopping centers, trading firms, property development companies, banks, media and telecommunication companies. Perhaps one of the more astonishing acts that occurred under the ex-President’s regime was when two of his clan members reportedly stole a yacht from a leading French banker. A story that came to light from some leaked U.S. embassy cables published by WikiLeaks.
So how much wealth have these autocratic, and presumably corrupt, leaders amassed for themselves and their families?... I did a little digging around, and though its difficult to verify how accurate any of these numbers are, here are some of the figures I came across:
Hosni Mubarak -- According to U.S. intelligence estimates, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his family are believed to have a fortune ranging from $1 billion to $5 billion, a significantly lower figure than most estimates of the wealth accumulated by Mubarak during his 30 years in power. Most of his money is believed to be stashed away in foreign banks, real estate and business holdings.
Muammar Gaddafi -- The current (for now at least) Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who has ruled the country for over 40 years and his family are believed to a fortune of approximately $20 billion. Again this figure comes from intelligence sources and is far below some recent rumors that peg his wealth at over $100 billion. The primary vehicle for his wealth accumulation has come from the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), a $70 billion sovereign wealth fund whose founding purpose was to diversify Libya’s oil dependent economy.
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali -- The ex-Tunisian President whose downfall got the whole revolution started, was estimated to have amassed wealth exceeding $5 billion. His family’s fortune was amassed amid a more mafia-style form of corruption, where they demanded significant stakes in most of the country’s shopping centers, trading firms, property development companies, banks, media and telecommunication companies. Perhaps one of the more astonishing acts that occurred under the ex-President’s regime was when two of his clan members reportedly stole a yacht from a leading French banker. A story that came to light from some leaked U.S. embassy cables published by WikiLeaks.
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