Imelda Marcos (b. 1929), “one of the ten richest women in the world” (Cosmopolitan magazine, December, 1975)
In December, 1975, Cosmopolitan magazine named Imelda Marcos, the First Lady of the Phillippines, as one of the ten richest women in the world. It even went a step further and speculated that Imelda was perhaps the richest woman in the world, richer than Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.
Everyone knew Imelda was rich; she made sure of that. She had an insatiable desire for expensive things and flaunted them. No one at the time really knew where she got all the money that she spent so impulsively. She was, after all, unemployed and had no independent wealth. In addition, her husband, the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, had made less than $5,000 a year for the last ten years in office.
Nonetheless, there was Imelda, spending $40,000 on a Honolulu shopping spree in 1974, without trying anything on. Her excess knew no limits and she spared herself no luxury:
“Another report had Imelda and a gaggle of friends demanding Bloomingdale’s in New York be closed for a private shopping extravaganza, then marching through the store pointing to desired items and saying, ‘Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.’”(1) She was referred to by one sales clerk as ‘the Mine Girl.’
Imelda Marcos from a Vanity Fair interview, 2007
Responding to criticism of her self-indulgence and the spending of public money for high-profile projects that did nothing to alleviate the poverty of the Filipinos, Imelda remarked that is was her “duty” to be “some kind of light, a star to give [the poor] guidelines.”
By 1981, Imelda’s personal popularity was at an all-time high. She jetsetted around the globe, shopping and hobnobbing with celebrities such as the perennially-tanned American actor George Hamilton.
After having secured the Miss Universe Pageant for the Philippines in 1974 – which necessitated the rapid construction of the 10,000-seat Folks Art Center – Imelda continued to indulge her “edifice complex,” building 14 luxury hotels, a multimillion-dollar Nutrition Center, Convention Center, Heart Center and, in 1981, the infamous Manila Film Center.
Imelda Marcos designed the Manila Film Center after the Greek Parthenon, shown here.
Imelda wanted Manila to rival Cannes as a world film capital. At the cost of $25 million, Imelda approved plans for the Manila Film Center to be built to host an international film festival. Opening night was set for January 18, 1982. The project was grandiose and expensive; the building on Manila Bay was designed to look like the Parthenon.
Delays hampered the progress. As the deadline drew nearer, it required 4,000 workers, working in 3 shifts, around the clock, if the building was going to be ready.
Then, at 3 a.m. on November 17, the upper scaffold collapsed and sent workers falling into wet cement. A witness said that some of the workers were impaled on upright steel bars.
Imelda was contacted about the accident. She was told that the recovery of the bodies would take alot of time – time, evidently, that Imelda didn’t want to give up. She ordered the construction to continue as planned and that the bodies – maybe as many as 169 – be covered with cement. It is believed that many of those who fell into the cement may have been buried alive.
The full story has never been told, as news crews, rescuers, and ambulance teams were barred from the scene for nine full hours, while the government, under martial law, prepared its official version of events, censoring all news and silencing all witnesses.
Despite all, the festival opened on schedule on January18, 1981, and had among its guests Brooke Shields, Franco Nero, Ben Kingsley, and Robert Duvall. The first film shown in the theater was the tasteful bioepic, “Gandhi.” Unknowingly, the stars partied atop a mausoleum of dead workers.
Brooke Shields (b. 1965) was only 16 years old when she traveled to Manila for the international film festival as the guest of First Lady Imelda Marcos.
“During opening night, Imelda ‘strode on stage in a Joe Salazar black and emerald green terno with a hemline thick with layer upon layer of peacock feathers.’ “Some said there were diamonds embedded in the skirt.
The next year, as a result of the accident scandal, the government withheld $5 million in festival funding. Imelda was in a fix. She had to pay for the festival somehow, so she ran pornography films in the festival’s second and, understandably, last year.
(1) Klaffke, Pamela. Spree: A Cultural History of Shopping.
Readers: For more on Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos on this blog, click here.
A close-up of Imelda Marcos looking into a gold-plated compact mirror, her first name encrusted in diamonds. Called the ‘Steel Butterfly,’ Imelda Marcos was the beautiful wife and confidante of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The Marcos regime (1965-86) was marked by notorious corruption, political repression, and financial improprieties of the highest order.
For other resources, click here.
Lisa's History Room 
From a daily reader who is grateful for your writing.
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You are so kind. Your sweetness put wind in my sails. Thank you.
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Dear Lisa,
With this post, you have revealed the true depths of narcissism that was Imelda Marcos. The popularly-recognized excesses, e.g., that she had more shoes than we have grains of sand on our planet, begin to look almost innocent by comparison- like the fatuous desires of an idiot child. With this last post, which describes how Marcos reduced the sanctity of human lives and suffering to so much rubbish, you have completed the puzzle. Imelda Marcos was not a fatuous child; Imelda Marcos was a narcissistic psychopath.
Your elucidation of such critical historical profiles is invaluable to us all.
Lisa, where have you been all our lives?
Very Sincerely,
Shirley Kavanaugh
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Shirley, you gush! Let’s not forget that Imelda is alive and running for office again in the Philippines. Fatuous is a good description of her. Thanks for stopping by Lisa’s History Room. Don’t be such a stranger, you hear?
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Dear Lisa,
Truthfully, I have been hanging around your History Room, anxiously hoping to be the millionth reader, but ultimately I was outfoxed by another glory hound.
I did not know that IM is running for office again in the Philippines! In that case, I will certainly refrain from referring to her in the past tense (but cannot promise that my heart does not wish it true).
Sincerely,
Shirley K.
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Well said.
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Ugh! I can’t stand this woman and what I’ve read about her. I read about the Beatles debacle and oh man do I feel embarrassed and ashamed at the actions the people of my parents’ home country.. It’s no wonder that often their shows have our people sing popular Western music (and to be blunt, I hear it *everyday* on my grandma’s TV and it’s not very good). My sister just told me she heard a terrible rendition of Erasure’s “Always” recently.
Dictators and celebs wanting to be politicians. Good job Philippines. Way to go *golf clap*
Yeah, I don’t have a lot of pride in my country. 😐 I do have some pride but only where it counts (and I’d rather keep that to myself).
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Hey, Jaybean, I appreciate the comments. Glad you liked the post. Keep coming back.
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Thanks for this interesting blog. I was not aware that IM was THAT bad. Yes, Shirley was right. She is a psychopath! Your blog has made me more hungry to learn about the Marcos era. I can’t believe I am this ignorant. Now I’m ashamed of myself for voting their son. Btw, she did win by a large margin in this election. Ugh!
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The Internet is such a great gift for people seeking knowledge. It has helped me immensely. Jess, keep coming back!
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I am not really totally agreeing with some of the against- imelda’s- comment though i will try to understand your feelings. I must say yes you may be ignorant not knowing so much about ones character but whenever you read articles it should not change your feeling right away. But that being said, it shows that you are not open to more ways of knowing others better. The kids of MARCOS is not the same as them. Are you exactly the same thingking and decision maker such as your mom or dad? ofcourse not. that should not be an issue as reflection that people might perceive that you are totally the same as your parents. Fairness in every point of view do counts. And i just wish people think really what people writes about how they feel. We keep making mistakes in life and there are rooms that we can do things right. The marcos’s has every right to defend themselves and they do to this day-why people dont understad after many trials or atleast give the thought of-just maybe they are really telling the truth. THAT IS ALL I WANT TO SHARE. Philippines was a lot more better then-than now. No blaming, no hate just move on. They did know how to make the nation better then than any politicians could ever visioned and implented and do the right job than the MARCOS’S.
rg.
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Definitely this is something that i must not be proud of but you may also have to include the good deeds Imelda has done in the Philippines.
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It is a grievous error to think this way, Dan.
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i agree with DAN.
rg.
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Whatever good the Marcos’ did for the Philippines is like a drop in the ocean compared to the atrocities, devastation and theft they have done to the Filipinos. Imelda is shameless in her audacity to even run for office. We all know how elections are won in the Philippines. She had enough money stashed away to buy her way to congress.
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Hi there,
Reading your article is somewhat one sided. Let me share that IM was not guilty with 350,000 files/documents laid against her and Marcos Sr. It is griveous for me to know that you only write the bad sides based on your judgement and people’s idea or some press writings . Don’t we all somehow have IMELDA in us? Did you forget that she after all implemented all the projects she had laid on the table then than most of any politicians ever did? You may also forgotten that without IMELDA’S diplomatic ways there would be no end of the cold war- in reference to her visit to CHARIMAN MAO of China. “it only takes 5 minutes to end of a cold war-through respect” imelda marcos. That i may say was and is to this day one of the greatest achievement she contributed, not only for her nation but to the world. She loves ARTS, MUSIC and Fashion. That is inspirational?
Somehow we need to write the good things because others may be feeded to only the mere facts-bad sides of one’s characters. Sadly enough to say you wrote only the other side which maybe not true at all and creates hate and injustice treatment toward IM for many. Be fair.
Thank you.
rg.
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RG, I can see that there is no use trying to talk sense to you. If you want to love and idolize a person who murders her political enemies and takes food out of the bread of babies to build museums, I can’t stop you. I’m sure Hitler had his good points, too, were I to be foolish enough to take this line of reasoning. This is a history site. You will find no hagiography here. Perhaps you should not visit Lisa’s History Room again if you are unprepared emotionally to read the truth.
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It is not fair to Madam Marcos to be judge by someone, who never meet her! I’ve meet her and very proud to know her better! She is very spiritual, kind and nice person, very democratic and friendly!
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You must have been one Marcos’ cronies.Just because the Marcos’ have done “some” good to the Filipinos which they were obligated and sworn to do, doesn’t mean you ignore the atrocities and evil things they’ve done. Richard Nixon resigned because of ONE incident that he did in the Watergate scandal. Let me repeat that, ONE scandal and he lost his job as president. The Marcos'(Imelda and Ferdinand) should have been crucified upside down. Ferdinand Marcos was in prison for killing his father’s political opponent and bombed the opposing party when he ran for president. Benigno Aquino, the most vocal opponent of Marcos was shot by his people. They wasted no time, they killed Aquino upon arrival from hiding, while coming down from his plane. The Marcos’ are murderers to countless lives but you’d never suspect it when you see them receiving holy communion every Sunday. They were the worst of the the worse. They were evil as evil can be and they did it while waving and smiling to the masses.
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You are mistaken by accusing the Marcos tandem of murdering Ninoy Aquino. It was the brother (Danding Cojuangco) of Ninoy Aquino’s wife, Corazon, who masterminded the assasination of Ninoy. Why do you think that after 2 Aquino’s became president of the Philippines, the issue of Ninoy’s assasination became a closed book. No further investigation was initiated. It is a loss of face for a Chinese family living in the Philippines to confront their own bloodline over the death of a brother-in-law. Blood is thicker than Water.
Ninoy was bent on distributing the Hacienda Luisita to the farmers and tenants occupying the Hacienda but the elder Cojuangco did not like the idea hence plotted the demise of the brother-in-law. The effect of the assasination was underestimated that the entire government was shaken and 2 associates of Mr. Ferdinand Marcos Sr. were slated to be arrested on conspiracy charges. Hearing the news of their impending arrest, they bolted the government and mutinied against the President.
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Accusing someone a murderer and pointing out “Hitler” and “babies ” were not the words i was expecting from you. Thank you. You have said enough about how you really feel.
Rg.
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The only thing more terrifying than evil people are the stupid/ignorant people that enable them or refuse to see anything the matter. To say that something good could come from a person like IM is just crazy, it´s not to be debated rg! I´m not saying she didn´t do anything good for her family or friends, just that all her political work has been tainted BY HERSELF and it´s sinful to act like it doesnt matter and also, it´s just not ok to vote her kids into power after her acts, if they had any decency they´d not run for office so just by going for it is proof that they lack the same things their mom did, maybe not as much but there are still millions of people all over the philippenes that would be more appropriate.
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[…] Imelda Marcos: The “Mine” Girl « Lisa's History Room […]
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Note … Imelda wasn’t seen with George Harrison, but George Hamilton.
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OOPS! That’s why I need readers. Thanks, Doc.
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Imelda Marcos had her charms and she was visually impressive, but the harm she did the Philippines far outweighed the good. I grew up there. I know what it was like. My parents were acquainted with politicians of the time and were friends with a few of Mrs. Marcos’ blue ladies (confidants). Quite a few times the presidential palace extended both social and political invitations to my parents, which my parents all declined because they knew firsthand the corruption, the thievery, and the delusion of grandeur that so plagued Mrs. Marcos.
Whatever projects Mrs. Marcos spearheaded in the name of prosperity, she truly did so in the name of her ego. That is why a nation revolted against her and her husband, and why, when the couple were sent into exile, the presidential palace was opened to the public as a museum of greed. Among the items in the palace were throw cushions embroidered with such lines as “Nouveau riche is better than no rich at all,” a mirror and hair brush encrusted with diamonds, and a collection of ermine mink (for the tropics?).
Where have you been, RG? Are you really so ignorant?
– finalwordful
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Rvsy, we needed to hear from you. Thanks for sharing.
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What Imelda Marcos did for the Filipinos was minimal compared to how she stole money from the government.
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People are forgetting that Ferdinand Marcos studied law from his prison cell after he was found guilty of murdering his father political opponent. It didn’t surprise anyone when Marcos’ opponent for president, Sergio Osmena’s platform was bomb during one of their campaigns. Osmena had a real chance of beating Marcos. After all the travesties of murdering oppositions and absurd corruption, the saddest part is that she is currently serving as a member of the House of Representative and their kids are also government officials.
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I gave up all hopes that the Philippines will ever be a great country when I learned that Imelda was able to buy her way back into public office. The kids are also in public offices and the son is flirting with the idea of running for president. I’m sure you can guess who the driving force is behind this..Imelda.
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Philippines would have been a much more beautiful country compared to how it is now but corruption is a lifestyle in that country that has crippled her. Corruption from the lowest form of government all the way to the top. It is so sad and there is no light at the end of the tunnel as to when it will all end. Millions of people, esp children are dying from starvation, malnutrition, poverty, crimes, etc… while politicians steal and squander money like there’s no tomorrow.
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Hi Lisa!
You may want to check this article which came out in one of the Filipino newspapers last September 12, 2012. (http://tinyurl.com/9dpjnma) It’s entitled
“To young Filipinos who never knew martial law and dictatorship”.
The Marcos Era was a very screwed up time in our country’s history. I do not know how things look like to someone who did not grow up in the Philippines but let me just tell you that it wasn’t just Marcos and his family doing dirty deeds at that time. Yes, they were doing bad things and this gave their allies the excuse to do despicable things, too. And then the Marcoses were ousted but their allies weren’t sent away or condemned. So we now have a whole bunch of people who know parts of the real history but will never ever come out to tell their stories because they’re trying to save their own necks. Even with Ferdinand Marcos dead, no one is still willing to tell the “truth” of what was happening during that time. They would usually agree with the fact that Marcos was evil but never expound on how evil he was. This attitude sowed confusion and now reaps historical ignorance among us Filipinos.
I do not want to and will not justify the comments that were made by previous readers of this blog entry. I feel ashamed that these people left such comments. However, I also felt a need to try and explain how they might have come to think of things that way.
Thank you for posting this story about Imelda Marcos on your blog. It was enlightening.
-Gillian
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her story may be a good material for a movie…just focusing on the complexity of her own character
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Her shoes tell the story of what Imelda really is. Would any sane, or rational ordinary person want 3,000 pairs of shoes? If she wore one pair a day, it would have taken her roughly 9 years to to through the whole shebang. And then she wouldn’t be able to wear them again because by then they would be outdated and out of style. But why hold on to them? Why would she not give them away? BECAUSE THESE SHOES WERE HER NEW SYMBOL OF AFFLUENCE, THE SYMBOL THAT WOULD DRIVE AWAY MEMORIES OF PRIVATION.
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Imelda couldn’t afford to pay for half those shoes on the president’s salary alone but they were considered the richest couple in Asia or perhaps the richest woman in the world while millions lived in poverty.
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We need an article such as this one to remind people — particularly Filipinos in the Philippines, and even more especially the younger generation — of this shameful episode in the Philippines’ history. It grieves me that the Marcos rape of the nation has gone unpunished; instead voters rewarded the Marcoses, including Imelda, by continually electing them into office.
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Marcos left the Philippines 10 billion US dollars poorer!
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Reblogged this on Unshackled.
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Thank you for the sharp eye! I have made the necessary correction. All my best, Lisa
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I saw this at the Film Center’s Wikipedia page. “In a 2005 documentary produced by GMA Network’s i-Witness, all 169 workers were traced and the records show that not more than a dozen died.[citation needed] Furthermore all the bodies were retrieved and were given a proper burial.”
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Miyuki, here is the report on the gma site. Best, Lisa
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/25140/publicaffairs/iwitness/multo-ng-nakaraan-ghosts-of-the-past
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Final Word…aha! I’ll never forget that “nouveau riche’ couch pillow in their NY townhouse nor that huge plexiglass cylindrical jacuzzi/tub combination. Some tidbits from that residence-
Huge portraits of themselves and The Reagans adorning the study walls. I fully expected to turn a corner and run straight into an Elvis portrait painted on velvet. Tack-ay. Taber!
One floor devoted to a karaoke lounge with mirrored disco ball and a spacious courtyard by NY real estate standards.
Some of her shoe collection was on display there. I expected them to be made in Brazil or China but noooo…I gasped when I spied a pair of Anne Klein aqua suede slingbacks with matching dyed leather soles imported from Italy. I had the same pair back in the late 80s that set me back $400 on discount! A lot of her shoes were produced by Stuart Weitzman. All manufactured in Italy. The Manolo and LeBoutins of that late 80s era.
She spared herself no expense. The look on my SO’s face, an old money dyed in the wool WASP, was amusing to say the least, as he struggled to maintain his composure. Not ‘better than no riche at all’.
Quite simply, her choices and entitled attitude only revealed a dirt poor, peasant past including early childhood abuse in marginal surroundings. The saying, “less is more” completely escaped this sociopathic narcissist. Broadcasting her faux arriviste status in this world. Paysanne of the highest order. One can only wonder if she suffered a head injury to her frontal lobes in her younger years coupled with childhood trauma.
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If you have gained riches legally from your rich husband..then is there anything wrong to buy whatever it is that you want… her husband became one of the richest man in the world…why not? it is not her fault that they acquired such great wealth..
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Cathy, perhaps you could research the source of their ill-gotten wealth. That explains what is wrong.
Best, Lisa
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KEEP THOSE AWAKENING INFO COMING PLEASE. SOME FILIPINOS WON’T READ AND BELIEVE, BUT THERE ARE MORE HUMANE, SENSIBLE, AND INTELLIGENT ONES THAN THEM! THANK YOU LISA WALLER ROGERS. YOU ARE GREAT!
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Only in the Philipppines, where a father/dictator pillaged the country for over two decades and gets exiled, yet the kids and wife is thriving in politics😳 I give up💔
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Sadly, Filipinos don’t want to learn from their mistakes. They already know what the Marcoses did to the country during their reign in power, yet they still welcome them back with open arms and electing them to hold public offices. Are they so naive for thinking that Imelda and her children can turn around the sorry state of this country when in fact it was Ferdinand and Imelda themselves that started the whole thing? We need to open our eyes and not let our country’s dark history repeat itself because if we do, we only have ourselves to blame and not the Marcoses.
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If the 1986 revolution executed these conjugal dictators, there won’t be corrupt politicians in the Philippines today. It set a bad example by having the big fish get away with what they stole.
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You advocate assassination. No thanks. Lisa
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Wow, that gave shivers in my spines.. I cannot imagine in my life of poverty how some one with nothing could become so greedy & spend beyond considerable means to indulge on things she can’t personally afford. But then opportunity comes but once so why not grab it while it last???
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America can’t stand the fact that Philippines was progressing on its own and not dependent to USA. America was trying to rob the gold of the Marcoses and the Philippines and made it appear that the marcoses wealth was ill gotten just to justify the confiscation of the wealth. Yet in trials held in your courts you have proved nothing and the Marcoses were aquited. So stop blabbering & make use of your brain if you have one.
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Henry, you are sooooo lost. Lisa
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So glad to read these since i was only a child when Marcos was a president. Just a hearsay but now i am informed of the truth.Really it got me sicked.So sad and disappointed
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And now she is a congresswoman, her son a senator, daughter a govenor and the brood has eyes on the presidency if they can re-write the history of the husband..a chilling situation.
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[…] Rogers, L. W. (2010). Imelda Marcos: The “Mine” Girl. Lisa’s History Room. https://lisawallerrogers.com/2010/03/31/imelda-marcos-the-mine-girl/ […]
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