Cuban President denies wealth

HAVANA - Cuban President Fidel Castro has furiously denied a story in Forbes that he is worth US$900 million ($1.45 billion) and said he would step down if the magazine could prove its claim.

Forbes ranked Castro as the seventh wealthiest ruler in the world in its annual tally of the Fortunes of Kings, Queens and Dictators.

Castro went on television brandishing a copy of the US-based magazine to tell Cubans the story was a "repugnant slander" by a capitalist publication.

With Communist Cuba's Central Bank Governor at his side, Castro dared Forbes to prove the allegation.

"If they can prove that I have a bank account abroad, with US$900 million, with US$1 million, US$500,000, US$100,000 or US$1 in it, I will resign," he said during a four-hour broadcast.

"It is so ridiculous to say I have US$900 million. What would I need all that money for, if I will soon be 80?"

Castro, in power since the 1959 Cuban revolution, said his net worth was nil and that he earned only 900 Cuban pesos ($55) a month.

Kings and sheikhs of the oil-rich Gulf Arab states still top the Forbes list, published in its May 22 edition.

Castro ranked higher than the Queen, whose fortune, says Forbes, amounts to US$500 million in estates, gems and a stamp collection built by her grandfather, but not Buckingham Palace or the crown jewels.

Castro last year threatened to sue Forbes after the magazine included him on its 2005 list with an estimated fortune of US$550 million.

The Forbes estimate includes state enterprises that the magazine assumes he controls in Cuba, among them the Havana Convention Center, the Cimex retail conglomerate and a drugs firm.

Forbes cited rumours of money stashed in Swiss bank accounts, and former Cuban officials claim Castro skimmed cash from firms for years.

- REUTERS