06 May 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.
I vote ‘ideology.’ Forbes’ readers would be better served by a discussion of the Oxfam America report (2002): ‘Cuba–Social Policy at the Crossroads: Maintaining Priorities, Transforming Practices.’ Among the things we learn:
‘The swift pace of change of the early years gave way to more measured advances, but the values that framed those initiatives have greatly influenced the body of social policy in Cuba. Cuban social policy is characterized by its emphasis on universal coverage and reach for all programs and for all educational, health, and social benefits. These are seen as part of a “social wage” that workers accrue in addition to their monetary wage. Social policy has also favored the development of equity across society, including the equitable distribution of benefits across all sectors of the population, sometimes favoring the most vulnerable. In the last 40 years Cubans have greatly reduced differences in income between the lowest and the highest paid persons. Women have benefited significantly from the revolution as they have educated themselves and entered the labor force in large numbers. The differences among Cubans of different races have also been reduced.
Cuban social policy is also characterized by the exclusive participation of the public sector in its development and execution. The government assumes responsibility for financing social programs and for providing all social benefits.
The programs and subsidies that make up Cuba’s safety net cover its citizens from cradle to grave. They have led the island to outcomes that, especially in health and education, are almost universally recognized as positive. The 1999 Human Development Index (H.D.I.), which measures basic dimensions of human development — longevity, knowledge, and a decent standard of living — ranked Cuba 58 out of 174 countries. Primary indicators for Cuba were: life expectancy at birth (75.7 years), adult literacy rate (95.9%), combined enrollment in school (72%), and per capita income (est. $3100)…
Health Care
Health care is considered a right of Cuban citizens and is provided free of charge. Health care was nationalized in Cuba in 1961, although some physicians continued to operate privately and a very small number still do so today. When, in 1959, Cuba began the process of transforming the health status of its population, it faced some important challenges. First of all, most health care was concentrated in urban areas, and was offered through a network of private clinics and a weak public system that was generally regarded as deficient. Second, in the first years after the revolution, about one-half of the physicians left the country, many in the wake of the socialization of medicine. Cuba was left with the burden of caring for its people with greatly diminished resources and the need to train almost all its medical personnel. But it was also left with the opportunity to develop a health care system from the ground up. And it developed a system that has attracted the attention of the world for its reach, its access, and its orientation to prevention. Health outcomes worsened during the first decade of the revolution as the system was put in place, but outcomes recovered by 1970 and have continued to improve to this day….
Education
Education is also considered a right of every citizen and is provided free of charge at every level. The Cuban educational system includes pre-primary, primary (1 to 6), secondary (7 to 9), and pre-university or technical/professional education (10 to 12). University education is also available. The evolution in this area is similar. In 1959, the educational attainment of Cubans stood at third grade. Forty-five percent of primary school children did not attend school, and 23% of the population over 10 years old was illiterate. The National Literacy Campaign reduced the illiteracy rate to 4% in 1961; the illiteracy rate in Cuba has remained under 10% and today stands at 6.8% of the population. According to the United Nations, the rate of literacy among people 15 and older in Cuba was 97%, compared to 99% in Canada and the United States, 96% in Costa Rica, and 83% in the Dominican Republic. In the 1960s and 1970s, schools were constructed, and a system of scholarships was instituted that assured that all children, regardless of where they lived or the economic situation of the family, would be able to attend school. The number of children in the labor force, low even in 1960 when compared to Latin America as a whole, first decreased and then dropped to zero as the availability of schools led to dramatic increases in the rates of enrollment in primary, secondary (high school), and tertiary (university or professional school) education…
In 1980, 98.8% of the children 6-11 were attending primary schools. Enrollments in secondary education also climbed from 14% in 1960 to a high of 90% in 1990… Enrollments in higher education increased from a low of 7% in 1970 to a high of 21% in 1990. These enrollments were strongly affected by the economic crisis of the 1990s, dropping to 12% in 1996. Nevertheless, the educational attainment of Cubans has translated into a highly educated workforce: of all Cuban workers, 14% have a university degree.
Culture for All
Another area that strongly reflects the universality present in Cuban social policy is arts and culture. As early as 1959, several new cultural institutions were founded in Cuba that would become important to the development of art and culture across Latin America: Casa de las Americas, the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Arts and Industry (I.C.A.I.C.), the National Theatre, the National Ballet, the National Symphonic Orchestra, and the National Folkloric Group. The literacy campaign also raised Cuban capacity to fully engage in the arts and culture. These developments alone would have enhanced the life of the Cuban people. But what has most characterized the process of cultural development in Cuba is the massive participation and access to arts and culture that is available to the Cuban people.’
Uriarte, Miren. Cuba–Social Policy at the Crossroads: Maintaining Priorities, Transforming Practice. An Oxfam America Report. 2002, pp. 6-12.
“Cuba’s achievements in social development are impressive given the size of its gross domestic product per capita. As the human development index of the United Nations makes clear year after year, Cuba should be the envy of many other nations, ostensibly far richer. [Cuba] demonstrates how much nations can do with the resources they have if they focus on the right priorities – health, education, and literacy.”
— Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, April 11, 2000