10 facts reveal the absurdity of Pablo Escobar's wealth

Amanda Macias,
Business Insider
Friday 29 December 2017 14:01

The "King of Cocaine" was the son of a poor Colombian farmer, but by the time he was 35, he was one of the world's wealthiest men.

Despite his humble origins, Pablo Escobar became the leader of the Medellín cartel, which was responsible for 80% of the global cocaine market.

"El Patron" brought in an estimated $420 million a week in revenue, making him one of the wealthiest drug lords ever.

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While verifying Escobar's wealth is impossible because of the nature of drug money, estimates run as high as $30 billion.

1. In the mid-1980s, Escobar's cartel brought in an estimated $420 million a week, which totals almost $22 billion a year.

2. Escobar made the Forbes' list of international billionaires for seven years straight, from 1987 until 1993. In 1989, he was listed as the seventh-richest man in the world.

3. By the end of the 1980s, he supplied 80% of the world's cocaine.

4. He smuggled about 15 tons of cocaine into the US every day.

According to journalist Ioan Grillo, the Medellín cartel smuggled most of its cocaine straight over the Florida coast.

"It was a nine-hundred-mile run from the north coast of Colombia and was simply wide-open. The Colombians and their American counterparts would airdrop loads of blow out to sea, from where it would be rushed ashore in speedboats, or even fly it right onto the Florida mainland and let it crash down in the countryside," Grillo wrote.

5. In other words, of the Americans doing cocaine, four out of five were snorting lines supplied by "El Patron."

6. The "King of Cocaine" factored in a $2.1 billion loss in profits each month, but that didn't really matter.

Escobar's immense wealth became problematic when he couldn't launder his cash quickly enough. He resorted to stashing piles of cash in Colombian farming fields, dilapidated warehouses, and in the walls of cartel members' homes, according to Roberto Escobar, the cartel's chief accountant and the kingpin's brother, in his book "The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellín Cartel."

"Pablo was earning so much that each year we would write off 10% of the money because the rats would eat it in storage or it would be damaged by water or lost," Escobar wrote.

That would be about $2.1 billion, given how much money he was reportedly making. Escobar simply had more money than he knew to do with, so haphazardly losing money to rodents and mold wasn't an issue.

7. And he expensed $2,500 on rubber bands each month.

While hiding or destroying the exorbitant amount of money was one issue, the brothers faced another, more elementary problem: neatly organizing the banknotes.

According to Roberto Escobar, the Medellín cartel spent an estimated $2,500 a month on rubber bands needed to hold stacks of bills together.

8. Once he started a fire with $2 million because his daughter was cold.

In a 2009 interview with Don Juan magazine, Escobar's son, Juan Pablo, 38 -- who has since changed his name to Sebastián Marroquín -- described what life was like on the run with the King of Cocaine.

According to Marroquín, the family was living in a hideout in the Medellín mountainside when Escobar's daughter, Manuela, became hypothermic.

Escobar decided to torch $2 million in crisp banknotes to keep her warm.

9. He was nicknamed "Robin Hood" after handing out cash to the poor, building housing for the homeless, constructing 70 community soccer fields, and building a zoo.

10. He cut a deal with Colombia to be imprisoned, but in a luxurious prison he built and named "La Catedral" -- the cathedral.

In 1991, Escobar was incarcerated in his self-designed prison he named "La Catedral." In the terms of his agreement with the Colombian government, Escobar was allowed to select who was imprisoned with him and who worked in the prison. He could also continue to run his cartel business and receive visitors.

La Catedral was equipped with a soccer field, barbecue pit, and patios and it was nearby another compound he built for his family. Also, the Colombian authorities were not allowed within 3 miles of his prison.

Pablo Escobar: 8 Interesting Facts About the King of Cocaine

WRITTEN BY: Amy Tikkanen

More than two decades after his death, Pablo Escobar remains as well known as he was during his heyday as the head of the Medellín drug cartel. His fixture in popular culture is largely thanks to countless books, movies, and songs. We’ve decided to make our contribution with a list of facts about the life of the larger-than-life Escobar.

Rise to Power

Escobar, the son of a farmer and a schoolteacher, began his life of crime while still a teenager. According to some reports, his first illegal scheme was selling fake diplomas. He then branched out into falsifying report cards before smuggling stereo equipment and stealing tombstones in order to resell them. Escobar also stole cars, and it was this offense that resulted in his first arrest, in 1974. Shortly thereafter, he became an established drug smuggler, and by the mid-1970s he had helped found the crime organization that evolved into the Medellín cartel.
Mucho Dinero

At the height of its power, the Medellín cartel dominated the cocaine trade, earning an estimated $420 million a week and making its leader one of the wealthiest people in the world. With a reported worth of $25 billion, Escobar had ample money to spend—and he did. His lavish lifestyle included private planes, luxurious homes (see below), and over-the-top parties. In the late 1980s he reportedly offered to pay off his country’s debt of $10 billion if he would be exempt from any extradition treaty. In addition, while his family was on the run in 1992–93, Escobar reportedly burned $2 million in order to keep his daughter warm. Despite his best efforts, however, even Escobar couldn’t spend all that money, and much of it was stored in warehouses and fields. According to his brother, about 10%, or $2.1 billion, was written off annually—eaten by rats or destroyed by the elements. In some cases, it was simply lost.
Hacienda Nápoles

Escobar owned a number of palatial homes, but his most-notable property was the 7,000-acre estate known as Hacienda Nápoles (named after Naples, Italy), located between Bogotá and Medellín. Reportedly costing $63 million, it included a soccer field, dinosaur statues, artificial lakes, a bullfighting arena, the charred remains of a classic car collection destroyed by a rival cartel, an airstrip, a tennis court, and a zoo (more on that later). The estate—the front gate of which is topped by the plane he used on his first drug run to the U.S.—was later looted by locals, and it is now a popular tourist attraction.
King of the Jungle

Escobar’s private zoo was home to some 200 animals, including elephants, ostriches, zebras, camels, and giraffes. Many of the creatures were smuggled into the country aboard Escobar’s drug planes. After his death in 1993, most of the animals were transferred to zoos. However, four hippopotamuses were left behind. They soon multiplied, and by 2016 upwards of 40 lived in the area. The potentially dangerous animals have damaged farms and inspired fear in locals. Authorities began castrating male hippos in an effort to control the population.
Robin Hood

Perhaps hoping to win the support of everyday Colombians, Escobar became known for his philanthropic efforts, which led to the nickname “Robin Hood.” He built hospitals, stadiums, and housing for the poor. He even sponsored local soccer teams. His popularity with many Colombians was demonstrated when he was elected to an alternate seat in the country’s Congress in 1982. Alas, two years later he was forced to resign after a campaign to expose his criminal activities. The justice minister who led the efforts was assassinated.
“Plata o Plomo”

Escobar’s way of handling problems was “plata o plomo,” meaning “silver” (bribes) or “lead” (bullets). While he preferred the former, he had no qualms about the latter option, earning a reputation for ruthlessness. He reportedly killed some 4,000 people, including numerous police officers and government officials. In 1989 the cartel was blamed for detonating a bomb on a plane that was carrying an alleged informant. Some 100 people died.
La Catedral

In 1991 Escobar offered to turn himself in to authorities—if he was allowed to build his own prison. Surprisingly—or perhaps not—Colombian officials agreed. The result was the luxurious La Catedral. Not only did the facility include a nightclub, a sauna, a waterfall, and a soccer field; it also had telephones, computers, and fax machines. However, after Escobar tortured and killed two cartel members at La Catedral, officials decided to move him to a less-accommodating prison. Before he could be transferred, however, Escobar escaped, in July 1992. And that brings us to…
The King Is Muerto

After his escape, the Colombian government—reportedly aided by U.S. officials and rival drug traffickers—launched a massive manhunt. On December 2, 1993, Escobar celebrated his 44th birthday, allegedly enjoying cake, wine, and marijuana. The next day, his hideout in Medellín was discovered. While Colombian forces stormed the building, Escobar and a bodyguard managed to get to the roof. A chase and gunfight ensued, and Escobar was fatally shot. Some, however, have speculated that Escobar took his own life. The drug lord, who faced possible extradition to the U.S. if arrested, had once said that he “would rather have a grave in Colombia than a jail cell in the U.S.”