Sometimes it’s a family member or friend that inspires us to start smoking cigars and other times it’s the unabashed sophistication and style of a politician, an actress or maybe a musician. We take a look a detailed look at some of the most famous cigar smokers and provide an insight into their lives and lifestyles.
First up we have possibly the most legendary cigar smoker and one who’s been known to have smoked some of the finest cigars in the world, Fidel Castro. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if a significant portion of the cigars online have been sold because they have been affiliated with the man himself, probably including some world-famous cigars like the Partagas brand.
FIDEL CASTRO
Cuba's dictator seen smoking his trusty cigar, he was hardly seen without it.
Fidel Castro, the Cuban politician died aged 90 in 2016, and was renowned for his revolutionary leadership of Cuba during his presidency. Due to this radical and ground-breaking movement, his other traits and things he personally enjoyed seem to have slipped under the radar. Let’s get to know him a little better.
CASTRO’S FIRST CIGAR
Castro smoked his first cigar at, some might say, a young age. He has been quoted explaining that his father was the person who first introduced him to cigars. He said that he didn’t quite know how to smoke it but fortunately ‘didn’t inhale the smoke’.
TO HIS LAST CIGAR
Fidel Castro quit smoking cigars at the age of 59, if you do the quick maths that’s an enormous 45 years of smoking. Which for a man who was hardly ever seen nor photographed without one, that’s quite a feat. He explained in many interviews that his reasons for giving up were all his own. After, according to legend, smoking Cohiba Cuban cigars for a large portion his life Castro was quoted saying ‘I decided to stop. Nobody made me’.
HE BELIEVED THAT 600 ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO ASSASSINATE HIM
The Communist revolutionary claimed that the USA funded over 600 assassination attempts made against him.
Some attempts apparently included:
- A cyanide pill was almost placed into his usual drink drunk at his local coffee shop
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There was a plan to fill the TV studio he was scheduled to make a speech with hallucinogenic drugs
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A toxic cigar (We know, we asked the same question: WHO WOULD DO SUCH A THING?!)
HE WAS CONSISTENTLY LISTED AS ONE OF FORBES WEALTHIEST WORLD RULERS
Over the years, Castro was frequently featured on Forbes. The American business magazine reported that he had a fortune of over $500 million and was the owner of several enterprises in Havana.
HE HAD SEVERAL CHILDREN WITH A NUMBER OF WOMEN
Fidel Castro pictured here being kissed by Gladys Feijoo in April of the year 1959.
In 2009, a book called ‘Without Fidel’ undiscovered the womanising ways of Cuba’s long-standing leader. After some extensive research, it’s claimed that Castro fathered at least 10 children with 5 women.
FIDEL CASTRO PERSONALLY WROTE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS SPEECHES
Castro felt that whenever someone wrote a speech for him it felt robotic and impersonal. He said that when he did leave it up to others, he had to write it entirely and said ‘I’ve never been able to give a speech that I haven’t prepared myself’ as quoted from My Life by Fidel Castro.
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