Angry Castro Protests: I’m Not Worth $900 Million
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
HAVANA – Cuban leader Fidel Castro denounced a Forbes magazine report naming him one of the world’s wealthiest rulers, putting in a special television appearance to rebut the story he called “rubbish.”
In an article, “Fortunes Of Kings, Queens And Dictators,” Forbes put Castro in 7th place in a group of 10 world leaders with “lofty positions and vast fortunes.” The magazine estimated Mr. Castro’s personal wealth to be $900 million – nearly double that of the $500 million of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and just less than Prince Albert II of Monaco’s estimated $1 billion.
The article also referred to rumors of Mr. Castro having “large stashes in Swiss bank accounts.”
“All this makes me sick,” Mr. Castro responded Monday on the communist government’s daily public affairs program Mesa Redonda, or “Round Table.” “Why should I defend myself against this rubbish?”
In explaining its calculations, Forbes said it assumed Mr. Castro has economic control over a web of state-owned companies including a convention center, a retail conglomerate, and an enterprise that sells Cuban-produced pharmaceuticals. Forbes acknowledged in its article that the estimates for all the leaders are “more art than science.”
