By Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat
 |
| No Longer the Headline |
Four years ago the decision to include Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in the Forbes Billionaire List was a horrible one on just about every level imaginable. Guzman is the leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel arguably the most powerful drug trafficker on the planet.
However, if one simply reduces the cons to a level of verifiable mathematics the decision made zero sense.
In a larger sense, by the inclusion of Guzman, Forbes denigrates its list, while at the same time fortifying glorification of the fruits of criminality.
 |
| The Mexico delegation of Worlds most powerful Lineup in past years: Guzman, EPN and Slim |
One can surmise the decision not to include Guzman in the 2013 list is a pragmatic approach to end the criticisms of a 4 year flawed decision. Regrettably Forbes attempted to justify the decision with sensible reasoning. Regrettable because it highlights the very basic standards ignored in the first place.
How does an entity deem a person’s wealth without subjecting that wealth to verification?
It was a stunner in 2009 when Guzman made the list with a fortune listed at $1 Billion.
Forbes senior wealth editor Luisa Kroll said the decision to drop Guzman was based on suspicions that "an increasing chunk of money is going to protect him and his family."
Kroll said in a statement Monday that Guzman is"no longer someone we are confident enough to call a billionaire, "and, “that he could not be reached to verify figures on his wealth”.(this last statement was my favorite)
Right…and he was in 2009?
2010?
2011?
Forbes would have gained great respect by simply stating “it was a mistake and we are correcting that mistake now”
On another note Mexican Carlos Slim (Telecom magnate) continues to head the list, with a fortune estimated at $73 billion.