Potentially the world's most notorious dictator, Kim Jong-un made a rare journey outside the relative safety of North Korea on 11 September to meet with Vladimir Putin in Russia. The despot covered the 426-mile journey by rail, opting for luxury over speed. While his personal armoured train can reach only a sluggish 37 miles per hour due to the thousands of pounds worth of protective plating, it's said to be packed with opulent extras. Click or scroll on to take a look around...

The authoritarian supreme leader of North Korea since the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in 2011, Kim Jong-un is one of the most callous dictators in modern history. In between threatening the West with nuclear annihilation and subjecting his people to horrific human rights abuses, the autocrat lives in shameless luxury and has the run of an array of palaces, villas and other extravagant residences – not to mention his opulent modes of private transport.

Kim Jong-un's distinctive green and gold train is made up of 90 high-security Soviet-made carriages, according to a South Korean intelligence report. As if that weren't quite enough space for everything the dictator needs, he reportedly travels with another train ahead to handle reconnaissance and check track safety plus a second train that brings up the rear, carrying bodyguards and additional personnel. During the time of his father, Kim Jong-il, 100 security officers would travel ahead to sweep stations for bombs, while military helicopters and aeroplanes would provide defence overhead.

Inside, Kim Jong-un sits surrounded by stiff-backed officials and North Korean state press on dated pink leather sofas and armchairs, which look straight out of the 1980s. The train is said to carry an enormous staff to cater to the dictator's every whim and, in Kim Jong-il's day, live lobster and "other fresh delicacies" were delivered to the train as it crossed Siberia on trips to Russia, according to The New York Times. Cases of Bordeaux and Burgundy were flown in from France and “it was possible to order any dish of Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and French cuisine,” wrote one Russian official, who travelled on the train in 2011. Jong-un is said to favour Swiss cheese, Cristal Champagne and Hennessy cognac. Ironically, he is said to have met with Putin in order to trade weapons in return for food and aid for his starving nation and also Russia's expertise to help with the North Korean space programme.

The lavish locomotive houses extensive living quarters and audience rooms, as well as at least one conference room, such as this one seen in 2015 featuring white panelled walls, draped windows and ornate blue and white chairs. Known to be an Apple fan, Kim Jong-un's office houses at least one Macbook, as well as flat-screen TVs and satellite phones. For entertainment, his father travelled with female entertainers known as "lady conductors" to sing to him. Jong-un reportedly packs his train with "tall and beautiful" women recruited for his 'Pleasure Brigade', according to The Sun.

While his father was said to have been scared of flying, Kim Jong-un doesn't seem to share the phobia. In 2015, he took to the skies to get an aerial view of some North Korean construction work and gave the world a glimpse inside his private plane. His office area was revealed to contain wood panelling, a matching desk that appears to be made from polished walnut, and pale pink and white leather chairs with gold detailing. Next to an array of phones, a crystal ashtray sits ready for use by Jong-un, who is known to be a smoker.

The compartments of the jet, which is believed to be a 40-year-old Soviet-made Ilyushin Il-62 plane, are separated by heavy tasselled curtains, while the floor is covered in a patterned blue carpet. While Kim Jong-un could have travelled to Russia by plane, his jet has been previously considered unsafe to fly and he was mocked for having to borrow a Boeing 747 from Air China to meet Donald Trump in Singapore in 2018.  And as 'paranoid Putin' is scared to leave Russia due to the arrest warrant issued for his alleged war crimes in Ukraine, travelling by train now appears to be Jong-un's only option.

While Kim Jong-un's modes of transport may be luxurious, it's nothing compared to his many palaces. Pictured here to give you an idea of the sort of aesthetic the Kims favour, the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in North Korea's capital Pyongyang was the official residence of Kim Il-sung, the founding president of North Korea. It now serves as both his mausoleum and that of his late son, Kim Jong-il. However, Kim Jong-un is actually rumoured to reside in a total of 13 fortified compounds in the country's capital, Pyongyang.

One of the reported residences was photographed in 2018 when Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov paid the despot a visit. According to CNN, the images depict: "A brightly lit, expansive property, which is quite austerely decorated but features artwork, expensive-looking carpets and marble pillars." Among the 13 supposed Pyongyang complexes, the Ch’angkwangsan Compound, shown here from above, appears to be the biggest.

An analysis by the North Korea Leadership Watch has revealed that the paranoid dictator has allegedly had an additional eight upscale mansions built on the site, reportedly to confuse potential assassins. Whether they were constructed for his personal use, or for family members or associates, hasn't been confirmed.

Away from the capital, Kim is rumoured to own a vast array of sumptuous properties he can kick back in. South Korean satellite imagery expert Bruce Songhak Chung has purportedly identified as many as 30 deluxe properties used by the supreme leader and his family. This compound in the coastal town of Wonsan on North Korea's east coast is said to be his favourite. Described as a Mar-a-Lago-esque resort by the New York Post, Kim's alleged retreat is said to feature manicured white-sand beaches, swimming pools with water slides, tennis courts, a stadium, a helipad, a marina for his fleet of superyachts and cruise ships, and luxury accommodations. 38 North analyst Michael Madden said: “You could fit six Mar-a-Lagos in Kim’s compound”. Alongside the sprawling estate, there are said to be three personal paradise islands further down the coast, pictured here, which are rumoured to be owned by the supreme leader too. 

Among Kim's many alleged retreats are several palatial properties on North Korea's picturesque Lake Yonphung, which is located close to the regime's main nuclear complex. According to NK Pro, the autocrat recently ordered the erection of a new mega-mansion in September 2022 (encircled top) to complement another property that has been undergoing construction since May 2021 (encircled bottom). The new addition reportedly spans over 230,000 square feet, making it four times bigger than the White House, and includes a four-storey tower. And all while millions of North Koreans endure tremendous hardships and struggle to put food on the table.

Read on to explore the lavish lairs of more infamous rulers, from Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hitler...

Obscenely extravagant, the world's most monstrous tyrants are notorious for enriching themselves, splashing out on lavish residences and outrageously pricey items with their ill-gotten gains, invariably at the expense of the oppressed masses. From Hitler's Berlin bolthole and Saddam's Baghdad palace to Putin's opulent Valdai hideout, click or scroll on to explore the homes of nine dictators from across the globe, both dead and alive.

The president of Iraq from 1979 to 2003, Saddam Hussein's time in power saw the Middle Eastern nation become embroiled in a series of ruinous conflicts, from the Iran-Iraq War to the Gulf War and ultimately the Iraq War of the early 2000s. His rule was marked by widespread human rights abuses, particularly against the Kurds, people adhering to the Baha’i faith and the Shia Marsh Arabs.

Part of the extensive Al Radwaniyah Presidential Complex on the outskirts of Baghdad, the Al Faw Palace, which is also known as the Water Palace, was commissioned by the dictator in the 1990s. The structure was built to commemorate the retaking of the Al Faw Peninsula by Iraqi forces in 1988 during the Iran-Iraq War.

One of over 80 grand palaces belonging to the Iraqi despot, Saddam went to town decorating the 450,000-square-foot building, which is surrounded by a vast artificial lake. All in all, the building was kitted out with 62 rooms and 29 bathrooms, with a majestic chandelier and Italian marble fitted in the lavish main hall.

Saddam didn't actually spend a lot of time at the palace. In fact, he's thought to have stayed there for only seven or eight nights in total, but his sons Qusay and Uday used it frequently as a hunting base, and the palace served as a getaway for many of the Iraqi dictator's associates. This image shows the remains of one of the grand reception rooms.

Though the despotic leader preferred to sojourn at his numerous other residences, the Al Faw Palace had a gilded throne for him to sit on during his visits, complete with gold lions and elaborate gilded decoration. An American soldier is seen here posing on the chair following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

The enormous building incorporates both traditional Arabic and European design influences, such as this glittering Art Deco-inspired chandelier, which graces one of the structure's fine marble staircases. Incredibly, it took a team of 40 between five and six hours to clean the entire palace.

After the 2003 invasion and overthrow of Saddam, the palace was used as a command centre for US troops with many of the rooms, including the posh suites, repurposed as offices. More recently, the building was converted into the American University of Iraq (AUIB), which opened its doors to students in 2021.

Lamentably, a litany of nations continue to be ruled by ruthless dictators. Vladimir Putin is perhaps the newest addition to that list. The autocrat has maintained his grip on power in Russia since 1999, cracking down on dissent within the country and creating chaos on a global level. His yearning for power became evident in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea, while the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, cemented his despotic legacy.

Reportedly one of the richest people on the planet with a rumoured net worth well in excess of $200 billion (£168bn), the Russian tyrant has a number of alleged covert residences that have reportedly been exposed by anti-corruption activists, including an enormous palace on the Black Sea coast and a forest hideaway on Lake Valdai nicknamed Putin's Dacha, the main residence of which is pictured here.

Independent news site Proekt published images of the sprawling mansion's interiors obtained from one of their sources. Putin is said to be furious about the leaks, as it's rumoured he houses his unofficial 'wife,' former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva here, along with their illegitimate children. He has never publically claimed the Lake Valdai house as his own, yet numerous anti-corruption activists have asserted that it is. As you can see from this shot of one of the living rooms, the dacha is very grand indeed. Increasingly paranoid since his invasion of Ukraine, Putin has reportedly set up missile systems to protect the home, and is said to have taken shelter in a bunker here during Yevgeny Prigozhin's failed coup attempt.

According to the Proekt report, the rooms were initially starkly modern in design but they were completely remodelled at Putin's insistence. The president reportedly wanted the interior to resemble the opulent Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. This is what Proekt calls the white dining room. Putin is said to have a particular fondness for the clandestine property.

The despot purportedly lives in the pad with his alleged girlfriend Alina Kabaeva and their rumoured children. Putin also reportedly built a deluxe wooden home on the wider estate for Kabaeva and the kids. While his ill-equipped troops fight it out in Ukraine, the Kremlin boss likely directs the conflict from his office. The gilded space features ornate chandeliers, a mahogany desk and swagged curtains.

This is rumoured to be the president's Second Empire-style bedroom, which, interestingly, looks similar to Napoleon III's Grand Salon in the Louvre. Other notable rooms in the mansion include the music lounge, which features a white Petrof concert grand piano, and the 'night cellar' kitted out with gilded chairs and a chandelier clad in gold leaf petals that guests can reportedly tear off and keep as mementos of their visit.

Taking up the entire lower floor of the dacha is a high-end leisure space, where Putin and his associates are said to unwind and pamper themselves while war rages over in Ukraine. It boasts a pool, hammam, Jacuzzi and massage table. The president also allegedly has a separate larger spa on the wider estate, which has been described by Navalny activists as his “temple of asceticism”.

Synonymous with evil, Adolf Hitler initiated the Second World War by invading Poland in September 1939 and orchestrated the Holocaust, which resulted in the genocide of six million Jewish people, along with millions of others from minority groups, including Slavs, the Roma, people with disabilities, gay people, resistance fighters and Jehovah's Witnesses.

When the murderous despot gave himself the title of Führer in 1934, he commandeered the former German president's private apartment in Berlin's Reich Chancellery and renamed it the Führerwohnung, meaning leader's apartment. The reviled Nazi despot was unimpressed with the space, which he thought looked "fit for a soap company”.

Ever the conceited megalomaniac, Hitler deemed the private apartments unbefitting for a leader of his stature. Still, the ruthless dictator filled the residence with expensive art and antiques, many of which were stolen from victims of his horrific regime—the Nazis looted a bewildering array of prized artworks during their reign of terror.

Hitler set about remodelling the residence in the late 1930s and called upon the services of Paul Ludwig Troost. When Troost died in 1934, his widow Gerty assumed responsibility for the renovations and became Hitler's personal interior decorator. This image shows one of the meeting rooms at the Reich Chancellery.

Hitler's private office was more compact and austere. Aside from his official Berlin residence, he owned a country retreat, the Berghof near Berchtesgaden, along with an apartment in Munich, and spent more than 800 days during the Second World War in the fortified bunker of the Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Lair) near Gierłoż in modern-day Poland.

The Führerwohnung library contained Hitler's personal collection of books, which numbered an estimated 6,000 volumes. A voracious reader, Hitler is said to have read one book a day, though many great works of literature were banned by the regime, including novels by seminal authors such as Marcel Proust, Ernest Hemingway and Aldous Huxley.

Hitler lived at the Führerwohnung on and off until the last days of the Second World War, when along with his mistress Eva Braun and closest confidants, he retreated to the Führerbunker, a nearby air raid shelter. As the Red Army closed in, Hitler married Braun on 28 April 1945. Two days later, the couple committed suicide. Following the war, the Soviets demolished the Reich Chancellery. Pictured here is a full-scale replica of Hitler's office, featured in the Berlin Story Bunker exhibition.

Communist tyrant Nicolae Ceaușescu rose to power in Romania during the 1960s when his popularity surged as he challenged the dominance of the USSR. But his rule became ever more totalitarian, repressive and corrupt. During the 1970s and 1980s, Romania was drowning in debt, food was severely rationed and extreme poverty was widespread, yet the communist dictator lived a life of decadent splendour.

Built in the 1960s, Ceaușescu's Bucharest home, the Palatul Primaverii (Spring Palace), was a showcase of his inordinate ill-gotten wealth, but it was reportedly only one of countless properties he 'owned' in Romania. Each and every one of the swish residences was sumptuously maintained, though many of them were rarely visited by the autocrat and his family.

The Palatul Primaverii was the Ceaușescus' primary residence. While the Romanian people lived in constant fear of the Securitate, the country's secret police, and barely scraped by, Ceaușescu and his wife Elena were allegedly busy loading up the property with luxuries. The home's principal reception room has all the dictator trappings, including gilded furniture, lashings of marble, pricey artworks, a sparkling chandelier and an extravagant Persian carpet.

The dining room is equally luxe with yet another no doubt obscenely expensive crystal chandelier, plus a handwoven tapestry and solid oak furniture that would have clearly cost a small or not-so-small fortune. Comprising 30 rooms, the property ended up being the couple's principal home for the last 25 years of their lives.

Ceaușescu also had a striking indoor swimming pool installed in the property, hiring only the best artisans the country had to offer to decorate the pool room with colourful mosaic tiles and marble flooring. Other features of the palace include an indoor winter garden, as well as a spa and gym.

Emulating the lavish interiors of the world's richest, the master bedroom is kitted out with Versailles-esque furniture and copious gilding, along with a Murano glass mirror and yet another crystal chandelier. As you can see, absolutely no expense was spared, despite the fact that the vast majority of Romanians were enduring hardship after hardship.

However, Ceaușescu saved the most eye-popping decor for the bathroom. The fixtures are made from solid gold, from the taps to the toilet roll holders. The dictator's nightmare rule came to an end in 1989 during the Romanian Revolution, when Ceaușescu and his wife were convicted of genocide and executed by firing squad on Christmas Day. Having been confiscated by the Romanian government, the palace is now a museum and a testament to the Ceaușescus' shocking corruption.

President of the Philippines from 1966 to 1986, Ferdinand Marcos's infamous regime has gone down in history for being remarkably brutal and corrupt. The far-right dictator and his shopaholic wife Imelda plundered hundreds of millions of dollars and were thought to have had around 50 mansions at their disposal.

The fabulously OTT residences, which were mainly constructed during the country's oppressive Martial Law era, include this Colonial-style palace in Tacloban City, which served as one of the Marcos' summer retreats. Cost-wise, the entire property was estimated at around $27 million (£22.8m).

Famed for her prized collection of more than 1,000 high-end shoes, Imelda Marcos had the swish 21,500-square-foot mansion constructed in the late 1970s. The fashion-obsessed first lady also had a shrine to Santo Niño de Cebú built on the site, along with a heritage museum. 

The couple packed their mansion with pricey art and antique furniture. Imelda Marcos even commissioned a mural of herself rising out of the sea like a goddess. Note the gold mosaic wall tiles, flashy chandelier and ornate plaster ceilings, all of which undoubtedly came with enormous price tags.

In addition to the mural, Mrs Marcos appointed top artists to paint numerous portraits of herself to adorn the walls. The picture here is set amongst gilded antique sofas, chairs and chinoiserie pots that were more than likely picked up during the First Lady's many shopping trips to Paris.

If the master bedroom at the Tacloban City mansion is anything to go by, it's not hard to work out why Imelda was dubbed “Marie Antoinette with shoes”. In fact, the gold-adorned room is so opulent and palatial, it even puts even the royal bed chambers at Versailles to shame.

The regal theme carries into the epic master bathroom. Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos were forced to flee the Philippines following the 1986 People Power Revolution, but Imelda and her children were allowed back in 1991 and remarkably, the couple's son Bongbong was elected president of the country in 2022. As for the Tacloban City palace, it's now open to the public and serves as a monument to the couple's excess.

Benito Mussolini was the first of the 20th century's fascist dictators. Dubbed 'Il Duce', the autocrat served as Italy's prime minister from 1922 through to 1943, having dragged the country into brutal Imperial adventures in Africa, as well as the Second World War, when his repressive regime allied with Nazi Germany.

With a taste for extreme luxury most dictators appear to share, Mussolini moved into the imposing Villa Torlonia in Rome in 1925, which was originally built for Prince Giovanni Torlonia. The flamboyant fascist paid a symbolic rent of one lira a year to the powerful Torlonia family and remained in the property until his arrest in 1943.

The neoclassical villa, which was completed in the early 17th century, is big on ostentation. The property's cathedral-like ceilings are adorned with ornate frescos, not to mention dozens of columns hewn from costly Carrara marble, as well as numerous gold-plated crystal chandeliers.

The palatial building and grounds were further developed in 1832 by the painter and architect Giovan Battisti Caretti, who added to the showy decoration and oversaw the construction of several follies, which were the height of fashion at the time. They include the so-called False Ruins, the Temple of Saturn and the Tribuna Con Fontana.

The architect Quintiliano Raimondi was enlisted to design a fabulous theatre in the grounds. The theatre is notable for its stunning floor-to-ceiling windows and glass roof, which illuminate the interiors and negate the need for artificial light in the auditorium during daytime performances.

The quirkiest structure in the grounds, the Casina delle Civette (House of the Little Owls) dates from 1840 and was originally designed by Venetian architect Giuseppe Jappelli as a Swiss chalet. It was remodelled and enlarged in 1908 by Enrico Gennari who added fairytale turrets and stained-glass windows.

Mussolini had a secret bunker installed beneath the property, which was constructed to defend against chemical attacks and bomb blasts. After the fall of the fascist regime in 1943 and the death of the dictator two years later, the property was occupied by US forces and then fell into disrepair. In recent years, the villa has undergone restoration works and is now open to the public.

Staying with 20th-century fascists, the victor of the Spanish Civil War Francisco Franco ruled over Spain with an iron fist from 1939 until his death in 1975. Throughout his long-lasting dictatorship, the despot was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people through forced labour and executions. 

The dictator had an official residence in Madrid as well as this manor house in Galicia, the region of his birth, which is located in the northwest of Spain. Franco used the manor house, which is called Pazo de Meirás, as a summer retreat to escape the stifling heat of the Spanish capital.

Built in the late 19th century in a Revivalist style, the property belonged to the local Pardo Bazán family before it was taken over by the local Nationalist faction in 1938 and 'sold' to the Spanish dictator in 1941.

Despite Franco's death in 1975 and the restoration of democracy in Spain, the property remained under the ownership of the Franco family until very recently. The manor house is decorated in a traditional Spanish style with plenty of Catholic iconography, including an abundance of crucifixes on the walls and numerous religious paintings.

Along with a number of fine crystal chandeliers, a gilded ship hangs from one of the ceilings. It's a model of the famed Santa Maria, the vessel Christopher Columbus used for his first voyage across the Atlantic in 1492. The ship was built in Galicia, which accounts for its position in pride of place.

The manor house also contains a splendid chapel boasting an intricately carved wooden altarpiece, several crystal chandeliers and numerous antique statues and other treasures. Back in 2018, the dictator's grandchildren put the country pile up for sale with an asking price of $9 million (£7.6m).

Then the Spanish government stepped in. A court battle ensued and in September 2020 a judge ruled the 1941 sale was fraudulent. Three months later, the state confiscated the manor house from Franco's heirs. They have since attempted to claim the contents, but have been allowed to keep just five decorative elements, including the carpets in the corridors.

Born into a Bedouin family in 1942, Muammar Gaddafi went on to lead a coup in 1969 that resulted in the overthrow of Libya's King Idris I. Colonel Gaddafi as he was known transformed Libya into a pseudo-socialist state, whilst managing to amass an eye-watering personal fortune to the tune of an estimated $200 billion (£168bn).

Gaddafi's main residence was Bab al-Azizia, a sprawling walled compound in the centre of Libya's capital Tripoli. The vast compound contained the colonel's private residence, military barracks, a mosque, indoor swimming pool and various other structures. Here's a pic of the foreboding walls post the 2011 Arab Spring.

And here's a snap of the indoor swimming pool, again, following the despot's overthrow. The rebel in the photo is getting ready to torch the Gaddafi regime's all-green flag. The original red, black and green design that was introduced in 1949 upon the creation of the Kingdom of Libya has since been reinstated.

Though the property wasn't considered as luxurious as his homes in the Gulf States, the colonel's Tripoli residence wasn't short of grandeur. This is evident in this image of Gaddafi with fellow despot Vladimir Putin, who as well as being similarly repressive, shares the deceased autocrat's penchant for all things gold.

Staying true to his Bedouin roots, Gaddafi actually preferred to live in an air-conditioned tent situated within the complex, and would often entertain foreign dignitaries there. This picture shows him with a delegation that includes former French president Jacques Chirac. The colonel also liked to travel with his tent. In 2009, he submitted an application to pitch it in New York's Central Park, much to the dismay of the local authorities.

In April 1986, the compound was the target of US airstrikes, which were authorised by President Ronald Reagan in retaliation for the Berlin discotheque bombing earlier that month. As we've alluded to, the despotic leader was eventually deposed following the 2011 Arab Spring. Bab al-Azizia was bombed by NATO and the compound's guards surrendered in August 2011.

Gaddafi, who had fled to his hometown of Sirte, was killed by National Transitional Council forces on 20 October 2011. Following his death, the colonel's compound was looted and vandalised. Following a period when the ruins were used as a market and occupied by squatters, the complex was razed to the ground and turned into a park.

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