It often seems like the great cars fall into the hands of terrible people. Here Jalopnik readers have found the cars they consider the very best owned by the people they consider the very worst.
Welcome back to Answers of the Day — our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
We suspect that the problem is that cars are such a trumpeted mode of conspicuous consumption. So few of these truly fantastic cars are ever even driven.
Are there any horrible people with fantastic cars that we're forgetting? Please let us know in Kinja below.
Photo Credit: Photo Credit: Getty Images
10.) The Shah of Iran
The Shah of Iran wasn't just a single-party dictator ruling with a full-scale secret police organization SAVAK, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was an extravagant single-party dictator ruling with a full-scale secret police organization.
His 1971 celebration of Persia's 2,500th anniversary cost over $100 million and his collection of cars later featured multiple Lamborghini Miuras, a Countach, and this $935,000 classic concept car.
Suggested By: _Mécanicien, Photo Credit: Fomics
9.) Carlos Hank Rohn Gonzales
The Hanks are one of Mexico's top families. The father, Carlos Hank is a billionaire reportedly linked to corruption and his sons are tied to more corruption, money laundering, and the drug trade. While the younger son Jorge Hank keeps exotic animals (and has journalist critics assassinated), older brother Carlos Hank Rhon goes for Ferraris, including the last Series 2 250 GTO, and this $16,390,000 1957 TR Prototype.
Suggested By: GuacamoleFire, Photo Credit: Gooding & Co.
8.) Jesse James
This guy allegedly cheated on Sandra Bullock with a tattooed Nazi-emulating chick, putting him into the top echelon of douchebags. Yes, Monster Garage was cool, but the guy is irredeemable. Also, he crashed his Ford GT. Friends of James say he's actually a nice guy and a good father, which may be true, but you can't break the heart of America's sweetheart and get away with it.
Suggested By: Jones Foyer, Photo Credit: Jalopnik
7.) Uday Hussein
Under Uday's rule in Iraq, you had to look forward to torture, imprisonment, and murder. And that was just if you were on the Olympic team! He had over a thousand cars, including a Lamborghini LM002 that American soldiers blew to smithereens
Suggested By: rb1971, Photo Credit: Lamborghini Registry
6.) Hans and Fritz Schlumpf
The Swiss Schlumpf family was in the textile business in France. Under the control of Carl Schlumpf it was quite good to its workers. When sons Hans and Fritz took over, the company became a monopoly built on the backs of its workers. The two brothers were some of the most devoted car collectors of all time, with over 500 priceless vehicles kept secret in a former factory workshop.
How did they afford all the cars? The brothers bankrupted the company, putting over 2,000 employees out of work. Those workers rioted, and had to be restrained by the government when the pristine cars were found. The collection is now a government-run museum.
Suggested By: Patrick Frawley, Photo Credit: Martin Wölfle
5.) Ramzan Kadyrov
How good of a guy do you think Ramzan Kadyrov is, when he owned a Lamborghini Reventon and a $3,000,000 motorcade while his Chechen state sat in poverty?
Suggested By: _Mécanicien, Photo Credit: Kadyrov Press Office/Getty Images, Oleg Nikishin/Pressphotos/Getty Images
4.) Pablo Escobar
The Colombian drug lord's reign of terror over his country is well known. His cars are less well remembered. Not only did he own a number of race cars, luxury cars, and even a bunch of fairly plain family hatchbacks, he also bought a 1930s Cadillac that he strafed with bullets so it'd look like Al Capone owned it.
Suggested By: dai_bb, Photo Credit: Proyecto Pablo Escobar
3.) Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue
Poor Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, son of Equatorial Guinea's dictator. He could only afford two Bugatti Veyrons and both of them were seized in a French corruption investigation, along with his Maserati MC12, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce, and five other cars. You can see them here. As a reminder, about 75% of his country lives below the poverty line.
Suggested By: gearboxtrouble, Photo Credit: Alex Smolik
2.) The Sultan of Brunei
Hassanal Bolkiah, reigning sultan of Brunei since 1967, is among the most ambitious car collectors in history. He spends so much on his cars that he hardly even buys ‘regular' exotics, preferring to commission special one-off Ferraris, Aston Martins, Bentleys and others. In the end, he just leaves them to rot in a humid, secret garage.
Suggested By: sunhawk, Photo Credit: Ferraris Online
1.) Prince Jefri
Prince Jefri is the sultan of Brunei's brother, and we had to give him a separate entry just to cover the shittyness of Brunei's top brass. We will remember Jefri not only for sharing his brother's cars, but for hiring models and then imprisoning them in his personal harem. When ex-Miss USA Shannon Marketic sued him for sexual assault to the tune of $90 million, he claimed diplomatic immunity. Nice guy, right?
Suggested By: xheeltoeherox, Photo Credit: Jameslist