What happens when you are an autonomous entity who happens to be
in the middle of prime infrastructure and oil deals? What if
there were no checks and balances or a system that ensures
public funds land where they should? What if you were given
unlimited political authority with no elected bodies to report
to? This would make you a dictator. You could choose to be a
benevolent dictator or a selfish one. Most dictators, past and
present, chose the latter. When the assets of former Libyan
leader Muammar Gaddafi and his kin were frozen in March 2011,
some of the numbers that came out were astonishing. The U.S. had
seized $30 billion of the family's investments. Canada had
frozen $2.4 billion, Austria had frozen $1.7 billion and the
U.K. had frozen $1 billion. It was reported that these figures
were nowhere close to the actuals. Over his 42-year reign,
Gaddafi was said to have amassed $75 to $80 billion. A former
ophthalmologist student, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made
sure key relatives were put in prime g