Name: What Is A Kleptocrat & Who Are The Most Notorious?
Uploaded: 2016-12-17T23:54:50.000Z
Duration: 4 min
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As President-elect Donald Trump transitions into the White House, critics are already

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fearful that the businessman-turned politician may use his newfound power to make himself

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and his family even richer than they already are.

Some worry that having Trump’s children run his business could ultimately lead to

them making deals with foreign governments, allegedly independent of the President, but

This sort of scenario has been likened to a “kleptocracy”, so what does this mean,

and who are some of the world’s worst kleptocrats?

Well, in short, a kleptocracy is a pejorative term used to describe a system of government

where the leader, or the “kleptocrat” uses the state to enrich their own life.

This is done at the expense of the country’s population, which in most cases of documented

kleptocracies, is often in poverty or near it.

The term “klepto” is greek for “thieves”, and the word “kleptocracy” means “rule

A large number of world leaders can be pointed to as kleptocrats, and in 2004, Transparency

International released a Global Corruption Report, detailing which world leaders had

syphoned the most money from their country.

Although all the leaders have since been removed from office, or left of their own accord,

the amount of stolen money is noteworthy.

At the top of the list is Indonesia’s former president, Suharto.

Over his more than 3-decade-reign, he is alleged to have stolen as much as 35 billion dollars,

or roughly 4% of the entire country’s GDP.

It is alleged that the president’s family held a virtual monopoly over any construction

or development being done in the country.

International companies would compete for excessively priced contracts, which would

But the actual people doing the work would be connected to some member of Suharto’s

family, thereby making sure than any construction would result in more money for the family.

This form of corruption was so standardized that it was reportedly easier for a project

to get built if it was connected to Suharto, because even though it would often be more

Another notable kleptocrat was Jean-Claude Duvalier [doo-vahl-YAY], the former president

of Haiti from 1971 until he was overthrown in 1986 and forced into exile.

Not only did Duvalier syphon as much as $800 million dollars, according to Transparency

International, he spent state funds on many personal expenses.

In one case, he allegedly spent $3 million dollars on a wedding for himself.

Worse yet, Duvalier’s family was implicated in trafficking narcotics through the government,

and even allegedly selling organs and limbs taken on the black market just to pad the

At the time, Haiti was one of the most poverty stricken countries in the world, and Jean-Claude’s

reign only left the country worse off than it began.

Often included among kleptocrats is current Russian President Vladimir Putin.

One former fund manager in Russia has alleged that Putin’s real personal wealth is close

to 200 billion dollars, built on the back of corruption in government.

For example, one official recounted running a program collecting money from wealthy donors

Instead the money was diverted to build a $1 billion-dollar private palace for Putin.

Other, more direct deals have included reports of Putin secretly allowing an oil company

to be the sole provider of oil to a major airport, in exchange for a 4% stake in the

Although not substantiated, rumors of corruption and money frequently changing hands would

be nothing new for the Putin regime, nor for Russia in general.

Kleptocracies are common in developing parts of the world where there is little accountability

in government, and leaders often wield absolute power.

Although the United States does not fit this description, many are still concerned about

a potential kleptocracy under President-elect Donald Trump.

If you're like me and love history, science and exploration, you should check out Discover

Go where you can binge watch all seasons current and past of your favorite Discovery Channel

Check out the link in the description below to learn more.

Trump’s businesses have been the focus of potential corruption in his administration.

So, how would Trump navigate the legal grey area of running his business and being the

The ethics in government act in 1978 does not require that the president sell or change

how they handle their private businesses.

In fact, only unelected officials who serve in the executive branch are prohibited from

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What Is A Kleptocrat & Who Are The Most Notorious?

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