True story, and the best part: He was living in that palace while on his mission, at the same time that other young men were being drafted to fight in Vietnam:

According to Romney, proselytizing in la belle France was no picnic. Romney recently rebutted suggestions that his immense wealth has left him out of touch with ordinary Americans by claiming he learned how the other 99 percent live through his service in France. According to Romney, his French quarters had no working bathroom — "we had instead the little pads on the ground," and "there was a chain behind you with a bucket," Romney says — and to shower, Romney claims that "if we were lucky, we actually bought a hose and we stuck it on the sink...and wash ourselves that way."

But Romney's gritty recollections contradict those of his fellow American missionaries, who told The Daily Telegraph that Romney lived in a "palace." Richard Anderson, the son of the mission president during Romney's stay, described it as "a house built by and for rich people," complete with stained glass windows (which scandalized the Mormon missionaries due to their depiction of a bare-breasted woman), chandeliers, massive bedrooms, a full-time chef, a houseboy, and yes — a working bathroom.