The Most Superstitious Dictator in Modern History

Of all the traits you might get from a dictator, superstition probably isn't the worst one. But in the case of Burma's dictator Ne Win, superstition literally caused him to bankrupt his whole country and make decisions on the advice of astrologers. He also insisted on walking backwards over bridges, ran his life around the number 9, bathed in dolphin blood, and shot his own reflection to ward off evil. Yeah, he was a strange one. None of that includes the numerous atrocities he committed over the course of his decades in power, but that's par for the course when it comes to dictators. Stick around to see how Burma (aka Myanmar) is doing these days, because it's a country that seemingly can't stop producing "unique" leaders. And now I'll enjoy my 4-6 weeks before the "make another dictator video" comments come back. 0:00 Early Life 2:13 Rise to Power 3:53 The Weird Stuff 6:58 Number Obsession 9:44 "Downfall" & Aftermath 13:42 Checking in on Burma Sources: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl... https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/... https://web.archive.org/web/201104300... https://seasia.co/2026/07/03/when-mya... https://web.archive.org/web/201104300... https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/12/... https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pa...