Tons of shoes and Picasso paintings. The beautiful life of the Marcos family

On June 30, 2022, a new president was inaugurated in the Philippines.

It was Ferdinand Marcos Jr, aka Bongbong Marcos. As you might guess from the name, his father’s name was also Ferdinand Marcos. And he also ruled the country.

The hero of the Second World War and a successful politician Ferdinand Marcos won the elections in 1965. Then he was re-elected for a second term, and then abolished the constitution and proclaimed martial law, that is, became a dictator.

With all the traditional dictatorial attributes: political repression, cult of personality, old friends in high places. Well, the Marcos family was distinguished by their thirst for money and luxury even against the background of their “colleagues”.

Especially Imelda Marcos – the wife of the dictator and mother of the new president. Formally, she was a businesswoman at the head of dozens of companies. But we understand how the relatives of authoritarian rulers succeed in business?

She returned from European shopping tours accompanied by porters who pulled endless dresses, fur (by the way, why is it in the hot Philippines?), carpets, furniture and jewelry. On the walls of the family houses hung paintings by famous masters (including Michelangelo, Picasso and Gauguin) and custom-made portraits of family members in the spirit of those found at Viktor Pshonka’s. Among her major investments were entire skyscrapers in Manhattan.

But most of all Filipinos remember Imelda’s love for shoes. Three thousand pairs – perhaps the largest private collection on the planet.

When Marcos was overthrown in 1986, the family fled to Hawaii and, of course, could not take thousands of suitcases with everything they had. The state nationalized most of the wealth, but some of the money is in foreign banks. Imelda’s shoes (not all of them – hundreds of pairs) are exhibited in a museum in Marikina.

Fendinand Marcos soon died in exile. But his wife was able to return in 1991. There are many supporters of the Marcos family in the country who warmly welcomed Imelda. Several times she became a deputy and ran for the presidency. And now her son is the head of the country. The mother, of course, was at the inauguration.