Was Arafat filthy rich? Yassar!

Tens of thousands of people thronged Yassar Arafat's grave today to mark the 5th anniversary of the Palestinian leader's death.

"The Answer Man" brings this up because Arafat was one of the most corrupt people on the planet, and if only a small percentage of the money he was worth had of been used for peaceful purposes, it would have made one hell of a difference in the Middle East.

I am not here today to comment on what Yassar did, or did not do, for the Palestinians during his tenure as head of the PLO, but rather to wonder where this guy got his hands on all that money?

As if we didn't know......., the Middle East makes Africa and South America look like a shinning example of business ethics and stability. - Here is a face that only a mother could trust! -->

The March 17, 2003 issue of Forbes magazine ranked PA Chairman Yasser Arafat sixth among the world richest people in a new category reserved for "kings, queens, and despots."

(England's Queen Elizabeth in fifth place!)

Forbes wrote that Arafat "feasted on all sorts of funds flowing into the PA, including aid money, Israeli tax transfers, revenue from some casino's and a Coca-Cola bottling plant."

(Back in 2003 Forbes was quoted as saying Arafat worth was in the neighborhood of $300 million, - which is a damned nice neighborhood - The Jerusalem Post, February 28, 2003).

That Forbes figure was modest, however, in comparison to other estimates of Arafat's riches.

An Israeli intelligence official told the Knesset last year that Arafat's net worth had at one time been pegged at $1.3b.

(In 1995, the U.S. General Accounting Office compiled a report on Arafat's finances, but it was kept secret due to "national security interests.")

(Saudi Arabia's King Fahd toped that list with a net-worth of over $20 billion!)

Now let me tell ya kids, you have all heard that old saying; "There's something rotten in Denmark?"

Well, the "Answer Man" thinks we sure could apply those words of wisdom to the Middle East as well!

Yassar!

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know......!) and is available as an E-Book H E R E! and H E R E! And as a paperback H E R E ! and H E R E !