Surprisingly, said Croutier, harems still exist, partially because of the current wave of Moslem fundamentalism. 'Polygamy has been outlawed in Turkey and China, the two greatest harem nations, but is still a flourishing practice in the Middle East and Africa,' she says.

Are there modern day harems?

Modern-day examples of "harems" are less plentiful, as the practice is generally frowned-upon in modern society. The most well-known examples, Hefner and Bilzerian, have already been covered. However, we were able to find a few more by casting our net to find some more controversial figures from around the world.

Who has a harem?

In a Muslim household, a harem is a part of a house set apart for women and from which nonfamily males are excluded. Harems existed in the pre-Islamic civilizations of the Middle East and in the courts of pre-Islamic Assyria, Persia, and Egypt.