Is Castro One of the 10 Wealthiest “Kings, Queens, and Dictators”?

Forbes has published its annual list of the world’s 10 wealthiest “Kings, Queens, and Dictators.” Heading the list, not surprisingly, are the oil magnates: King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia ($21 billion), Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei ($20 billion), and Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE ($19 billion). The first ruler not in the middle east is Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein ($4 billion). At the bottom of the list is Queen Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands (a paltry $270 million). The list also includes Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, dictator/President of Equitorial Guinea ($600 million), whose cozy relationship with the Bush administration I discussed here.

The most interesting entry on the “Kings, Queens, and Dictators” list, however, has to be Fidel Castro, the President of Cuba. Forbes estimates his personal fortune at $900 million.

I have no difficulty believing that Castro lives far better than the average Cuban. But his inclusion on the list seems to reflect little more than the anti-Castro bent of the U.S. business community. Forbes admits that it is difficult to prove “a dictator controls funds and uses them for personal gain—not for the country’s benefit.” It must be — because Forbes’ case against Castro is stunningly weak, especially in comparison to its case against Obiang.

Here is Forbes’ hard evidence against Obiang:

Equatorial Guinea’s president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and his government deposited up to $700 million in U.S.’ Riggs Bank. A U.S. Senate subcommittee’s 2004 investigation criticized Riggs for failing to report potential money laundering in the Equatorial Guinea accounts. It also outlined examples of how Riggs allowed Obiang to make cash deposits and withdrawals from accounts he controlled personally… Obiang and relatives reportedly own several private businesses in Equatorial Guinea, which has an estimated GDP of $8 billion, including a real estate/construction company, forestry group and a security firm, controlled by his brother… [Obiang] and his immediate family recently owned two multi-million dollar homes in Maryland. The president’s son reportedly paid $700,000 to rent Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s yacht, Tatoosh.

And here is Forbes’ “hard evidence” against Castro:

[W]e assume he has economic control over a web of state-owned companies, including El Palacio de Convenciones, a convention center near Havana; Cimex, retail conglomerate; and Medicuba, which sells vaccines and other pharmaceuticals produced in Cuba. Former Cuban officials insist Castro, who travels exclusively in a fleet of black Mercedes, has skimmed profits from these outfits for years. To come up with a net worth figure, we use a discounted cash flow method to value these companies and then assume a portion of that profit stream goes to Castro. To be conservative, we don’t try to estimate any past profits he may have pocketed, though we have heard rumors of large stashes in Swiss bank accounts.

Ideology or dispassionate analysis? I’ll let readers be the judge.