Perhaps the most controversial and powerful person of the 20th century is Saddam Hussein, the former President of Iraq. His decades of rule would be marked by intense political turmoil at home and foreign scrutiny abroad, as his legacy shaped both Middle East history and world history for generations.
In this blog, we are going to discuss Saddam Hussein’s biography, net worth, books, quote, family members, children, etcetera.
Table of Contents
Early Life and Rise to Power
- Saddam was born April 28, 1937, in Al-Awja, Iraq, into a troubled family.
- His father had died before he was born, and he was raised by his mother and his maternal uncle.
- Saddam joined the Ba’ath Party, the organization that would bring him to political power, as a young man.
- After an assassination attempt on then-Iraqi President Abdul Karim Qasim failed, Saddam went into exile in Syria and Egypt.
- Instead, in 1968, the Ba’ath Party seized power in Iraq, and Saddam came back, rising swiftly through the ranks and becoming vice president. In 1979, Saddam assumed the presidency and ruled with an iron fist.
Net Worth of Saddam Hussein
There was always speculation about Saddam’s net worth over the years. He was worth $2 billion to $4 billion when he died in 2006. But that number is hotly debated because his wealth was closely guarded and largely generated by his illicit schemes, including siphoning Iraq’s oil resources, embezzlement, and bribery.
Saddam’s wealth wasn’t limited solely to cash assets. He had held enormous wealth in several countries and had led a lavish lifestyle of palaces, luxury vehicles, and extensive works of art. And even if the studded fortune was real, most of Saddam’s wealth was hidden or transferred to trusted relatives, complicating efforts to see the big picture of his financial empire.
Saddam Hussein Book
- Saddam Hussein was a consummate author in his lifetime.
- Hence why these works, as much as they do anything, really represent his beliefs about matters of ideology, leadership, nationalism, and the Arab world.
- His books contain some of his best work:
- “Zabibah and the King” (2000): This might be Saddam’s best-known work, a romance novel set in a fictional kingdom with a wise monarch who falls in love with a peasant woman.
- The book is generally read as an allegory of Saddam’s rule and of his view of power, loyalty, and justice.
- “The Revolution and Beyond”: Writings on Iraq’s political history, the Ba’ath Party, and Saddam’s vision of the future of Iraq.
- Saddam’s writings were widely circulated under his rule and used as propaganda tools to solidify his image as a visionary leader.
My mother said all her life: Saddam Hussein Quotes Fates
- Fiery rhetoric was Saddam Hussein’s way of securing his hold on the Iraqi people. Here are some of his most memorable lines:
- “I am not a dictator. I am a citizen at the service of the Iraqi people.”
- This response reflects Saddam’s self-image of himself as a benevolent dictator relative to the institutionalized apartheid of his dictatorship.
- “They have no business lecturing us on human rights in this country.”
- Saddam regularly portrayed his regime as a more moderate counterbalance to Western powers, particularly the U.S., to whip up nationalist sentiment.
- “Iraq is a rich country. concluded, adding, “We take pride in our natural resources.”
- Its logo is a symbol of his pride in Iraq’s abundance of oil wealth, which he would spend freely to bolster military operations, and of his iron fist on political power.
Saddam Hussein’s ChildrenSons and Daughter
- Dynasty was a central component of Saddam Hussein’s reign.
- He had two sons and a daughter, each of whom held powerful positions in Iraq’s political apparatus.
- Uday Hussein was Saddam’s eldest son and a much-hated figure in Iraq.
- He was notorious for his violent and erratic behavior and had been president of Iraq’s Olympic Committee and overseer of the national media.
- As a figure of extreme violence and extreme luxury, Uday became among the top feared men in Iraq. He was killed by US forces in 2003.
- Qusay Hussein: Saddam’s second son, Qusay, was seen as the more responsible and disciplined of the two. He had broad sway over Iraq’s military and security forces.
- Qusay, like his brother Uday, was killed by U.S. forces in 2003.
- Raghad Hussein: Saddam’s oldest daughter.
- She fled to Jordan with her children after her father’s regime collapsed. Raghad has also lived in exile and explicitly embraced her father’s legacy.
Saddam Hussein family net worth
- The exact amount of wealth possessed by the Hussein family is unknown, but accounts suggest they amassed a substantial fortune during Saddam’s rule.
- Much of their wealth was connected to the oil industry and state-run businesses.
- After Saddam was ousted from power, many of the family’s holdings were frozen or seized by international authorities, but relatives are believed to have hidden fortunes in offshore accounts.
The Toppling and Execution of Saddam Hussein
- Saddam Hussein’s regime fell to a United States invasion in 2003.
- His regime was accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the use of chemical weapons to suppress the Kurdish population and brutal suppression of political opposition.
- Saddam fled after the fall of Baghdad, but U.S. troops found and captured him in December 2003.
- In 2006, a long-running trial found Saddam guilty of crimes against humanity, particularly for the 1982 massacre in Dujail, and sentenced him to death by hanging.
- He was executed on Dec. 30, 2006.
FAQs About Saddam Hussein
How wealthy was Saddam Hussein?
Saddam’s wealth was estimated at $2 billion to $4 billion when he died in 2006, largely from Iraq’s oil reserves and also fraud and other illicit activities.
How did Saddam Hussein die?
Saddam Hussein was captured by American troops in December 2003 and later convicted of crimes against humanity. He was executed by hanging on December 30, 2006.
