NBC News offered viewers a guided bird's-eye tour of dictator's homes and palaces using satellite photos.

Saddam Hussein's 74 palaces throughout Iraq were once the leading example of the grand dictatorial style. The nearest runner-up now that Saddam is gone may be North Korea's Kim Jong-Il, whose official residence includes expansive pools, a parade ground, and tree-shaded paths.

Bashar al-Assad's compound in Syria is built into a mountainside for security, while Muammar Qadaffi rejoices in "an exquisite tent on the Mediterranean coast."

Fidel Castro, however, is known for the "relative modesty of his surroundings." He lives in just one of numerous small dwellings along a winding road in the presidential compound outside Havana.

(Article continues below)

Deep Background has more here.

This video is from NBC's Deep Background, broadcast February 13, 2008.