Asama Assad’s reported shopping binges have also been the subject of scrutiny. In 2012, after a particularly violent time in Syria, the Guardian published leaked emails that revealed Mrs. Assad's penchant for luxury furniture and fixtures, including five chandeliers reportedly worth $420,984 from a shop on London’s King Road. And according to an article published recently in the Daily Mail, she regularly dines on Western food, ordering it in bulk for her three children so they won’t maintain a Syrian diet.
The first lady has even been dubbed a modern-day Marie Antoinette for living a lavish lifestyle at a time when, according to the Economist, 19 percent of Syrian’s live below the poverty line (compared with less than 1 percent before the war). Raised and educated in the U.K., Mrs. Assad, 38, graduated from King’s College London in 1996 with a degree in computer science and French literature. For a brief period, she worked as an international investment banker before marrying President Assad in 2000. As Syria's first lady, she rarely makes public appearances or speeches but her gilded lifestyle — for example, reportedly purchasing $6,000 crystal-encrusted Christian Louboutin stilettos while her country is been plagued by poverty and violence—has been the subject of controversy.
Even the family's children have been dipping into the public eye, which undoubtedly won't help their image. Last month, Assad's 11-year old son, Hafez reportedly posted a Facebook status in which he called Americans "cowards" and challenged the United States to attack Syria.
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