Castro disgusted by Forbes fortune listing

HAVANA, May 16 (Reuters) Cuban President Fidel Castro may be one of the world's longest serving leaders, but he furiously denied a Forbes magazine story ranking him among the richest.

Castro went on television brandishing a copy of the US-based magazine, with the president of Cuba's Central Bank at his side, to tell Cubans the story was a ''repugnant slander'' by a capitalist publication.

In its annual tally of the ''Fortunes of Kings, Queens and Dictators,'' the US financial magazine estimated Castro's wealth at 900 million dollars, up from last year's estimate of 550 million dollars.

The estimate includes state enterprises that the magazine assumes he controls in Communist Cuba, among them the Havana Convention Center, the Cimex retail conglomerate and a pharmaceutical company that exports vaccines.

Castro, in power since a leftist revolution in 1959, says his net worth is nil and that he earns only 40 dollars a month as head of state.

The bearded revolutionary likes to say his ''fortune would fit in (US President George W) Bush's shirt pocket.'' Kings and sheiks of the oil-rich Gulf Arab states still top the Forbes list, published in its May 22 edition.

The magazine ranked Castro seventh, ahead of Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain with some 500 million dollars in estates, gems and a stamp collection built by her grandfather, but not Buckingham Palace or the crown jewels. The British monarch came to the throne in 1952, seven years before Castro seized power.

Castro, who will be 80 in August, last year threatened to sue Forbes after the magazine released its 2005 list.

Forbes said it assumed a portion of the profits of state companies goes to Castro and cited rumors of money stashed in Swiss bank accounts, but gave no details, saying former Cuban officials insist Castro has skimmed profits for years.

Central Bank President Francisco Soberon said the Forbes story was a ''poisonous lie'' fabricated by US intelligence services that have worked to discredit Castro for decades.

''The Cuban revolution and its maximum leader are an example of honesty and ethical conduct in this chaotic and corrupt world into which the empire has cast humanity,'' he said.

REUTERS PG PM0603