# How to compute Casto's net worth **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 15, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846 "2006-05-15T16:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Purl\_little\_me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/76d3ee/32.png) [@Purl\_little\_me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purl_little_me)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/1 "2006-05-15T16:34:00Z")
(If there’s another thread like this please like me) Recent reports say he’s “rich as QEII”. He replys “I’ll sue for libel. I own nothing.” What does he own? Sure, he has a few yachts (and a whole navy) at his disposal, but do they own things in communist Cuba? That is, what toys are his to will to others at his death? Can his cousins jump in and claim his memoirs and a closetful of fatigues? ---
**Author:** ![Purl\_little\_me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/76d3ee/32.png) [@Purl\_little\_me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purl_little_me)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/2 "2006-05-15T16:36:18Z")
😕 Please _like me_? I’m sure I typed “link me”. [Freud?] ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/3 "2006-05-15T16:46:11Z")
If you look at it one way, Castro owns everything in Cuba. If you’re an absolute dictator who can confiscate any object, and order anyone imprisoned, tortured, or killed on a whim, then it doesn’t matter that you only officially “own” one set of worm fatigues. Put it this way. Castro lives in a palace. Does he own the palace? Probably not, officially. That palace “belongs” to Cuba, and is only used by el Presidente, just like George Bush doesn’t own the White House. But it turns out that Castro is President for life. And his word is law in Cuba. So is it really fair to claim that Castro doesn’t own the palace he lives in? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/4 "2006-05-15T16:59:46Z")
This is actually a fairly tricky question. The Sultan of Brunei used to be considered the richest man in the world, but then they changed the rules for dealing with world leaders. (“They” being whoever the hell keeps track of this stuff in the first place.) Now, the SoB isn’t even in the running. Castro is in a similar positon. If you consider all the wealth of Cuba to be his, then yeah he’s filthy stinkin’ rich. But if you restrict it to his personal property, then he’s probably not so well off after all. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/5 "2006-05-15T18:02:17Z")
\*I \* like you, **Purl little me** , whether there’s a thread like this, or not. hh ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/6 "2006-05-15T18:28:12Z")
Is this the line for folks who like **Purl little me**? ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/7 "2006-05-15T18:34:45Z")
Yes, it is. Do YOU like **Purl little me** , too? hh ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/8 "2006-05-15T21:13:30Z")
You bet! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/9 "2006-05-15T21:42:05Z")
I posted [a related question](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=272551) a while back. No conclusive answer. And I like you too. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/10 "2006-05-16T02:32:06Z")
Almost all lists are total BS and Forbes (richest) and US News (colleges) are at the forefront of lists that are total BS. The methodology of such lists are so flawed that is beyond ludicrous yet people eat them up. The People list of “Most Beautiful” has better methodology. Castro is a dictator that has contibuted to the misery of millions of Cubans. No matter what happens he will never miss a meal. That being said, his enemies, more specifically, the Miami Cubans who hate Castro and can’t get over the fact that they deservedly got their ass kicked 47 years ago, are just as evil and have contributed just as much to the misery of millions of Cubans. None of them has missed a meal. The Castroites and the anti-Castroites are both on the “list” of richest and most evil. Bottom line (as always) the people suffer. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/11 "2006-05-16T02:35:54Z")
How far back does the line go? I can’t see it from here. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/12 "2006-05-16T03:45:56Z")
> [@Spartydog](#): > > Castro is a dictator that has contibuted to the misery of millions of Cubans. No matter what happens he will never miss a meal. That being said, his enemies, more specifically, the Miami Cubans who hate Castro and can’t get over the fact that they deservedly got their ass kicked 47 years ago, are just as evil and have contributed just as much to the misery of millions of Cubans. None of them has missed a meal. > > The Castroites and the anti-Castroites are both on the “list” of richest and most evil. > > Bottom line (as always) the people suffer. Bottom line is–you’re in General Questions, not _rant-me-this_. As such, we expect facts, just the facts. Politics belongs elsewhere. **samclem** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![marginal\_prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@marginal\_prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marginal_prophet)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/13 "2006-05-17T00:17:39Z")
The numbers seem to b based not on publicly declared holdings, but what they assume he has skimmed in case he ever has to flee in haste. [Castro denies Forbes report of his wealth - Sun-Sentinel](http://www.topix.net/content/trb/2862307652230317856019102272823364903304?threadid=AT4OI0IKBLD2OO8C) “Given that longtime dictators such as the Shah of Iran and Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines were reported to have fleeced their countries for billions of dollars, ‘I would not be surprised if Castro had $4 billion to $5 billion,’ he said.” ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/14 "2006-05-17T03:41:26Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Bottom line is–you’re in General Questions, not _rant-me-this_. As such, we expect facts, just the facts. Politics belongs elsewhere. > > **samclem** General Questions Moderator You are right. I apologize. However, my comments are based more on fact than they may appear. I have recently been in Cuba, travelling on a legal U.S. issued license. I have had the opportunity to see things in Cuba that the casual traveler does not or cannot see. I was followed and my phone calls were monitored. I became painfully aware of how the Cuban people have been played as pawns by political interests on both sides. If anyone is interested in learning about everyday life in Cuba then they should read the book “This Is Cuba” by Ben Corbett. I found his observations to be accurate and without an agenda. Many of the writings on Cuba are based on propoganda but Corbett seems to give it a fair perspective. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-compute-castos-net-worth/356846/15 "2006-05-17T04:11:59Z")
> [@Spartydog](#): > > You are right. I apologize. However, my comments are based more on fact than they may appear. I have recently been in Cuba, travelling on a legal U.S. issued license. I have had the opportunity to see things in Cuba that the casual traveler does not or cannot see. I was followed and my phone calls were monitored. I became painfully aware of how the Cuban people have been played as pawns by political interests on both sides. > > If anyone is interested in learning about everyday life in Cuba then they should read the book “This Is Cuba” by Ben Corbett. I found his observations to be accurate and without an agenda. Many of the writings on Cuba are based on propoganda but Corbett seems to give it a fair perspective. Let’s try this again. Will you please quit posting political diatribes in General Questions, posts by you which have nothing to do with the OP. Such as the one you just did. Knock it off. Now. P.S. You do NOT have to respond to this post.