Castro slams report on wealth as rubbish

Castro slams report on wealth as 'rubbish'

HAVANA, Cuba (AP) -- Cuban President 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 its May 5 article "Fortunes Of Kings, Queens And Dictators," Forbes
put Castro in seventh place in a group of 10 world leaders with "lofty
positions and vast fortunes."

The magazine estimated Castro's personal wealth to be $900 million --
nearly double that of the $500 million of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II
and just under Prince Albert II of Monaco's estimated $1 billion.

The article also referred to rumors of Castro having "large stashes in
Swiss bank accounts."

"All this makes me sick," 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?"

Later on the program, Castro pounded the table, saying, "If they can
prove I have an account abroad ... containing even one dollar I will
resign my post."

Castro also gave the floor to several top officials, including Central
Bank President Francisco Soberon, to deny the claims and defend his
integrity.

"It is absolutely impossible that someone in the upper levels of
government -- and especially not a leader [like Castro] ... who is
recognized by the Cuban people as an example of humility and
self-discipline -- could maintain personal accounts abroad," Soberon said.

Soberon called the Forbes article "grotesque slander" and blamed the CIA
and a U.S. press controlled by "the empire" for the magazine's "vulgar
and ridiculous" claims.

In explaining its calculations, Forbes said it assumed 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.

Soberon said, however, that all the money made from those companies is
pumped back into the island's economy, into sectors including health,
education, science, security, defense and solidarity projects with other
countries.

Forbes acknowledged in its article that the estimates for all the
leaders are "more art than science."

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press

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