The first time someone asked me if the president of Cuba, Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, was one of the richest men in the world was in June 1998. During a Cubana de Aviación flight between Havana and Buenos Aires. The plane wasn’t very full, so I moved to another seat and found a position away from the wings. To enjoy the beautiful scenery of this part of the Americas. I sat next to a woman in her sixties.
The woman, whose name I don’t remember, confessed to me that she was very frustrated. Because in Varadero, the most beautiful and popular resort on the island, she hadn’t found a single copy of ¡Hola! (Hello!) magazine. To escape into with the interviews and articles about the world of the rich and famous.
When she realized I was Cuban, she bombarded me with questions, as we islanders say. She fired off the question: “Is it true that Fidel Castro is a multimillionaire?” “It’s been speculated about in the world press,” the aristocrat added. She also mentioned Cuban salaries and their dollar equivalents.
My first answer was that the Cuban leader is so rich he doesn’t need millions of dollars. Because he has millions of Cubans who love him as the historical leader of the Revolution. “A man of Fidel’s stature doesn’t need a fortune, a private jet, yachts, or mansions to be loved,” I told her. “As happens with some wealthy people who have many friends because they hoard a lot of money.”
Perhaps outside this nation’s borders, those who don’t know Fidel believe the Forbes list. Which is manipulated as a tool serving the interests of the powerful, to discredit the Cuban leader, who is currently fighting corruption in society. In contrast, the publication, in the background, highlights the billions of Bill Gates, the richest man on the planet. Thanks to his creative intelligence and the vast software monopoly he founded under the name Microsoft.
To those who accept the financial publication’s assertion, I say that from his earliest years, Fidel Castro never considered becoming a millionaire. He could very well have been, since he came from a well-to-do family of Spanish origin. Also who educated him at the Jesuit school in Santiago de Cuba. He later earned a law degree from the University of Havana. At a time when, in Cuba, the average citizen only reached the fourth grade. But from the moment he learned about Cuban history and studied the work of National Hero José Martí, he preferred to fight for independence. And against the corruption of politicians who enriched themselves by stealing from the budgets of healthcare, education, and social programs.
Then he read the books of Karl Marx, becoming a Martí-Marxist, and, like any good Cuban, he once said, “In ’56 we will be free or martyrs.” A phrase he uttered upon his release from prison on what was then the Isle of Pines (now Isle of Youth), after attacking the Moncada Barracks in 1953. The young Fidel’s purpose was to achieve true independence for the archipelago. Transforming it into a sovereign state free from hunger, illiteracy, racial, sexual discrimination, and corruption to achieve full equality for all Cubans. This project triumphed on January 1st, 1959.
Since then, Fidel Castro has dedicated his life to building, throughout these 47 years of a humanist Revolution, the betterment of his people. Who have reached a life expectancy of 78 years, comparable to some developed countries. And where every citizen has access, regardless of skin color, religious or political beliefs, to free public education and healthcare.
I suggest the editor of Forbes investigate whether Fidel Castro bought a mansion in Spain for summer vacations. Whether the statesman acquired a yacht for cruising and fishing in the Caribbean Sea. Or whether he travels on a private 747 superjumbo jet to see the world. The Cuban Head of State has none of that! So, what kind of millionaire is the President who is said to have $900 million and yet owns none of those material possessions?
If Mr. Forbes believes in God, he should remember that the Holy Scriptures say it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s fair to say, then, that these rich people on the list of the most lavish are truly poor.
As a child, Fidel Castro played with the children of poor Haitian immigrants who cut sugarcane during the harvest. As a young man, he was indoctrinated with the humanist principles of the Bible during his studies at religious schools. So as a revolutionary, he fought to realize his ideas in this socialist revolution. As Head of State, he strives to maintain social progress in science, the economy, health, and culture. Guaranteeing the full well-being of present and future generations.
Like José Martí, Fidel has always stood with the poor of this world and believed in human betterment and the power of virtue. That’s why it’s fair to say he is a millionaire in integrity, dignity, and honesty.
P.S.: I wrote this piece on June 22nd, 2006, after Forbes magazine published its list of the world’s richest billionaires, which included Fidel Castro. Because of the centennial of his birth, I wanted to share it with my readers at Radio Angulo Website.
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