Forbes: World's weathiest rulers

2006-05-05 21:13

New York - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, Cuban President Fidel Castro, Monaco's Prince Albert II and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II are among the world's wealthiest rulers, reported Forbes magazine on its website on Friday.

Featuring monarchs, presidents and other leaders, the Forbes list is topped by Saudi's King Abdullah, 82.

He became Saudi Arabia's sixth king in August 2005, and is worth an estimated $21bn, said Forbes.

In second place, with $20bn, is 59-year-old Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei.

He is followed by the president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, 58, with $19bn.

Dubai's ruler, 56-year-old Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, came in fourth, with $14bn, followed by Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, 61, with $4bn.

The new Monegasque (Monaco) ruler, Albert, 48, who took over rule of the tiny principality after his father's death last year, was in sixth place with $1bn.

Castro, 79, came in seventh, with $900m, said Forbes.

The Forbes report cited former Cuban officials as saying that Castro had skimmed profits from a Havana convention centre, retail conglomerate Cimex, and vaccine and pharmaceutical products firm Medicuba to amass his fortune.

President of Equatorial Guinea is No 8

It noted, however, that "Castro, for the record, disagrees, insisting his personal net worth is zero".

Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the 63-year-old president of Equatorial Guinea, is next on Forbes' list. The magazine said he is worth about $600m.

Forbes said Obiang and his government deposited $700m in the American bank formerly known as Riggs Bank. But said: "Equatorial Guinea's embassy insists the money, which was released back to the country, belongs to the government".

An Equatorial Guinea embassy official said: "Attributing that money to President Obiang's personal wealth is like saying a person who runs a hospital is worth the amount of revenue the hospital generates."

Forbes says list is difficult to compile

Obiang is followed by Britain's 80-year-old queen, Elizabeth, who is worth $500m - not including Buckingham Palace, the crown jewels and some other heirlooms that "belong to the British nation" and are merely "entrusted to her care".

Rounding out the list is the Netherlands' Queen Beatrix, 68, who has $270m to her name.

Forbes acknowledged that the list was difficult to compile: "These fortunes are derived from inheritances or positions of power. And the lines often blur between what is owned by the country and what is owned by the individual.

"Even stickier: Proving a dictator controls funds and uses them for personal gain - not for the country's benefit."

- AFP