John Edwards and Kofi Annan: Peas in a Pod

A former U.N. secretary-general, Kofi Annan, recently purchased a second multimillion-dollar house, this one in a posh neighborhood in Tangier, Morocco, where his neighbors are said to include pop stars and the country's king, sources said.

Mr. Annan was in Morocco earlier this week, calling on European Union leaders to retool their efforts to end poverty in Africa. His brother, Kobina, has for a long time served as Ghana's ambassador in Rabat, where he is considered a top player on the diplomatic scene.

The former secretary-general is currently based in Geneva, where he had reportedly already bought a multimillion-dollar residence in an upscale neighborhood. E-mail messages seeking comment on the Moroccan house purchase were not answered by Mr. Annan's Geneva office.

Mr. Annan's annual salary as secretary-general, a position he held until December 2006, amounted to $300,000. The organization financed his official residency. He currently draws a pension that, according to a U.N. spokesman, is based on the contributions he made to a U.N. pension fund during two separate periods — one spanning more than 30 years as a staff member, and the other during the 10 years he served as the organization's chief.