Known as the “Steel Butterfly” for her combination of fashion sense and political ambition, Imelda Marcos is the former first lady of the Philippines. Her husband, Ferdinand Marcos, was president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. During that time, the couple embezzled $10 BILLION from the government. In fact, Imelda and her husband hold the Guinness World Record for the Greatest Robbery of a Government. Oh, and they committed hundreds of human rights abuses during a brutal period of martial law.
Sources for this episode:
- The Kingmaker (documentary)
- Esquire
- Vanity Fair
- The New York Times
- LA Magazine
- Town & Country
- Bloomberg
- Britannica
- Biography
- Human rights violations by the Marcos
- Wikipedia
Trigger warnings: Political assassinations, torture, and animal abuse.