Top 10 Most Corrupt Politicians In History

Welcome to WatchMojo, where we’ll be discussing the 10 most fraudulent politicians to ever rule.

#10: Silvio Berlusconi

Italy’s most controversial prime minister since Mussolini has debatably been Berlusconi. He’s held the role three separate times since the 90s. Berlusconi was absurdly wealthy, making billions as a media tycoon. Before dying in 2023, he was put on trial multiple times. In 2012, he was found guilty of tax fraud in the 90s, which got him a four-year prison sentence. This was reduced to one, then reduced to community service due to his age. His most publicized trial was focused on an inappropriate relationship of his, which got him a seven-year sentence, which was overturned on appeal. This is barely scratching the surface of all the illegal deeds he was accused of.

#9: Viktor Yanukovych

In Ukraine, corruption has been a huge issue since the fall of communism in 1991. Recent years have seen improvements, but it continues to be a challenge. One of the biggest exploiters was Viktor Yanukovych, who was elected president in 2010, then ousted during a revolution in 2014. After he fled, they discovered a private zoo and a pirate ship restaurant in his mansion, among other ridiculously expensive indulgences. He and his associates are believed to have stolen almost $37 billion in total, an obscene amount. Ukraine has had a warrant for his arrest since 2014, but he’s currently hiding in Russia.

#8: Bashar al-Assad

If an award existed for the most evil eye doctor in history, it would instantly be given to al-Assad. His father, Hafez al-Assad, was Syria’s dictator from 1971 until he died in 2000. His son, Bashar, had been training in ophthalmology but abandoned this in the 1990s. When his father died, he took control and held it until 2024. While he was in power, he ruled with an iron fist, frequently abusing human rights, which led to the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011. Countless war crimes were committed to keep him in power until he was finally ousted and fled to Russia in 2024. This marked the end of 53 years of despicable al-Assad rule in Syria.

#7: Kim Jong Un

North Korea is often cited as the most corrupt country in the world. It’s hardly surprising for a country where Kim Il Sung, a man who died in 1994, is considered their “Eternal President,” therefore making it a necrocacy. They are one of the strictest countries ever formed. This has created a society where if you stick to the rules, you’ll probably starve to death. In reality, these harsh rules are often bypassed through bribes; hence, corruption is necessary to survive. It’s also been virtually impossible to escape to another country since 2020, making the captive citizens’ situation beyond sorrowful.

#6: Robert Mugabe

In his younger years, Mugabe was considered a freedom fighter and a heroic Zimbabwean revolutionary. When he was born, Zimbabwe was still under British rule. Mugabe was one of many who fought for independence, then became their second President in 1987, but held the position until 2017. His rule brought with it huge amounts of corruption and countless human rights abuses. For example, in 2000, he bizarrely won a lottery organised by the Zimbabwe Banking Corporation. From 2000 onwards, he encouraged native Zimbabweans to violently take white-owned farms. Despite his issues, he was re-elected multiple times, but violence and fraud were highly common, so it wasn’t necessarily representative of the people’s desires.

#5: Vladimir Putin

Under Putin’s reign, Russia has become one of the world’s most corrupt nations. Not only that, Putin uses his power as a weapon to destabilize other countries, such as Ukraine. Some experts say around 6% of Russia’s annual GDP is lost to corruption - and some say it is much more. The people who have to make up the difference are average working-class Russians, which leads to a huge rise in wealth inequality. Reports found that the country’s wealthiest 1% own over 50% of Russia’s wealth, a mind-blowing figure. Unfortunately, Putin puts a lot of money into propaganda, meaning Russians aren’t as outraged about corruption as they should be. If they do speak up, they could be sentenced to prison, making the situation even more tragic.

#4: Sani Abacha

Nigeria was a military dictatorship between 1993 and 1998, with Sani Abacha pulling all the strings. He created one of the most disgusting regimes in human history, causing widespread violence to eradicate opponents. Acts like executing environmental activists destroyed Nigeria’s international relations. Despite only being in power for 5 years, he managed to embezzle between 2 and 5 billion US dollars. In the end, he died in suspicious circumstances. Officially, it was a heart attack, but no autopsy was performed, so people theorize he was poisoned. Years after his death, they were still finding millions of dollars that he had stolen, then hidden abroad.

#3: Mobutu Sese Seko

Now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it was called Zaire after Mobutu became the sole president in 1971, a position he didn’t leave until 1997, when rebels finally ousted him. He used his power to exploit his country for as much money as he could. Estimates of how much he embezzled vary significantly, but some estimate he stole 5 billion dollars. In 1970, it is claimed he stole 60% of the national budget. Mobutu used this money to build three palaces for himself as part of his extravagant remaking of his hometown. This was Gbadolite, which was intended to be a jungle paradise. In 1997, the place was raided by rebels, and the palaces were abandoned.

#2: Ferdinand Marcos

Between 1965 and 1986, the Philippines was ruled by an authoritarian leader, Ferdinand Marcos. During his rule, the Marcos family acquired obscene quantities of money. There’s no definitive figure for how much, but one economist says it could be as high as 30 billion dollars. Of course, this wasn’t acquired through ethical means, or he wouldn’t be on our list. By the time he was ousted in 1986, the country was suffering from immense poverty alongside a major debt crisis. He encouraged political violence, which led to the People Power Revolution in 1986. Marcos fled to Hawaii, taking with him 717 million dollars of stolen cash. He lived a lavish lifestyle in Hawaii until dying in 1989, never once facing justice.

#1: Suharto

Indonesia’s second-ever president was Suharto, who seized power from the first President, Sukarno, in 1967. He ruled until 1998, when the country had finally gotten sick of his authoritarian regime. According to Time magazine, his family had amassed 73 billion dollars in wealth during his 32-year rule. Because of him, at least 500,000 people were murdered in Indonesian mass killings in the 60s. Justice was never delivered to Suharto, who was surprisingly still admired by millions of Indonesians after resigning. When he finally kicked the bucket in 2008, Indonesia gave him an extravagant funeral, alongside a week of national mourning. This shows how divisive Indonesian opinions of him are, with many regarding him as a hero, and many others considering him a monster.

Did we forget to include any politicians you believe deserve a spot on our top 10? Let us know in the comments section!