The Excesses of the Very Rich and Powerful

After a popular revolt forced dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda, to flee the Philippines in 1986, officials were astounded to find more than 1,200 pairs of shoes owned by the former first lady.

Imelda Marcos gained notoriety for shopping trips to the world's swankiest boutiques, glitzy parties and lavish beautification projects in the midst of the Philippines' extreme poverty, the Associated Press wrote in 2001. The shoes became a symbol of extravagance and excess.

In this photo, Imelda Marcos in 2001 was reunited with about 200 pairs of her shoes in the Marikina Shoe Museum, near Manila.
(Pat Roque / Associated Press)