Fidel Castro Biography: Net Worth, Age, Death, Wife, Parents, Family, Children

Fidel Alejandro Castro Rush, famously known as Fidel Castro, was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who led Cuba from 1959 to 2008.

He served as the country’s prime minister from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2008. A Marxist-Leninist and Cuban nationalist by ideology, Castro also held the position of first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1965 until 2011.

Profile

• Full Name: Fidel Alejandro Castro Rush
• Stage Name: Fidel Castro
• Born: 25, November 1926
• Date of death: November 25, 2016 (Aged: 90 years)
• Birthplace Havana, Cuba
• Nationality: Cuban
• Occupation: Politician
• Height: 1.91 m
• Parent: Ángel Castro y Argiz ,Lina Ruz González
• Siblings: Ramón, Raúl, Angela, Emma, Agustina, and Juanita
• Spouse: Mirta Díaz-Balart (m. 1948–1955), and Dalia Soto del Valle (m. 1980–2016)
• Children: Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart, Alexis, Alexander, Alejandro, Antonio, Ángel, Alina Fernández, Jorge Ángel Castro , Francisca Pupo
• Relationship: Married
• Net Worth: $900 million

Early Life And Education

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on November 25, 1926, in Havana, Cuba, to Ángel Castro y Argiz, a Spanish immigrant and successful sugarcane farmer, and Lina Ruz González, who initially worked as a servant in Ángel’s household before becoming his wife.

He had several siblings, including brothers Ramón and Raúl and sisters Angela, Emma, Agustina, and Juanita, and half-siblings from his father’s previous marriage.

Castro received his education at Jesuit institutions—Colegio Dolores in Santiago de Cuba and El Colegio de Belén in Havana—before pursuing a law degree at the University of Havana.

Of Spanish heritage, he was raised in the Roman Catholic faith and attended Catholic schools, though he later embraced atheism and endorsed state atheism.

Career

Fidel Castro began his professional career as a lawyer after earning his law degree from the University of Havana in 1950.

Driven by a commitment to social justice, he co-founded a legal practice to assist underprivileged Cubans.

However, the firm faced significant financial challenges and ultimately failed to achieve long-term success. Concurrently, Castro became increasingly active in politics, joining the reformist Partido Ortodoxo and preparing to run for Congress in the 1952 elections.

His political aspirations were cut short when General Fulgencio Batista staged a military coup and suspended the democratic process.

Disillusioned with the failure of legal and political avenues to bring change, Castro shifted toward revolutionary activism. In 1953, he led an armed assault on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba, which marked the beginning of his armed resistance against Batista’s regime.

Although the attack failed and resulted in his imprisonment, it elevated Castro’s profile as a revolutionary figure. After being released under amnesty, he went into exile in Mexico, where he formed the July 26 Movement with his brother Raúl and revolutionary ally Ernesto “Che” Guevara.

In 1956, they returned to Cuba and initiated a guerrilla campaign from the Sierra Maestra Mountains, steadily gaining support and undermining Batista’s grip on power.

Castro’s revolutionary campaign culminated in the successful overthrow of Batista in January 1959. He assumed the country’s leadership, first as Prime Minister and later as President, implementing sweeping socialist reforms to reshape Cuba’s economic and social systems.

Castro aligned the nation closely with the Soviet Union and established a one-party communist state, solidifying his control and transforming Cuba’s political landscape.

Throughout his nearly five-decade rule, he became a central figure in Cold War geopolitics and one of the most influential—and controversial—leaders of the 20th century.

Social Media

Fidel Castro does not have a social media handle.

Personal Life

Fidel Castro was married twice during his lifetime. His first marriage was to Mirta Díaz–Balart, and together they had a son, Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart, commonly known as “Fidelito.”

He later married Dalia Soto del Valle, with whom he had five sons: Alexis, Alexander (also known as Alex), Alejandro, Antonio, and Ángel.

In addition to his children from these marriages, Castro fathered several other children from relationships outside of wedlock, including a daughter, Alina Fernández, with Natalia Revuelta, as well as at least two more children, Jorge Ángel Castro, and Francisca Pupo, with other women.

Net Worth

At the time of his death in 2016, Fidel Castro was estimated to have had a net worth of around $900 million.

Despite his repeated public claims of having no personal wealth and living modestly, evidence suggests that he maintained control over several profitable state-owned enterprises in Cuba.