10 facts reveal the absurdity of Pablo Escobar's wealth

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jason73

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Jan 15, 2015
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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.

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.

Screen grab
Source: The Daily Beast


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.

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Source: Forbes


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

AP
Source: A History of Modern Latin America: 1800 to the Present


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

Sebastian Marroquin/Sins of my Father
Escobar with his son, Juan Pablo, in front of the White House in 1981.

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.

Sources: Killing Pablo, El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency


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

Screen grab
Source: GQ


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

Screen grab
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.

Source: The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellín Cartel


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

US Government Photo
One of Pablo Escobar's mug shots.

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.

Source: The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellín Cartel


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

Sins of my Father
Pablo Escobar with his wife, Maria Victoria, son Juan Pablo, and daughter Manuela.

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.

Source: Don Juan magazine


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.

Screen grab
Sources: Forbes, A History of Modern Latin America: 1800 to the Present


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

Screen grab
Pablo Escobar with his top hitman "Popeye" in "La Catedral."

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.
 

ECC170

Monster's 11,ATM 2,Parlay Challenge,Hero GP Champ
Pro Fighter
Jan 23, 2015
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This mofo was on another level... jason73 @jason73 you like the cocaine cowboy docs?
 

sgotwalks

First 100
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Jan 16, 2015
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Damn.........motherfucker burns 2 mil in cash to start a fire in order to warm up his chilly little girl! Who's keeping Daddy's little princess warm now?
 

1stworlsdview

Lurker
Nov 28, 2016
1
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Netflix true crime series Narcos spurs huge demand for Colombian women.

Produced by Netflix, the show "Narcos" takes on the infamous Medellin drug cartel which follows the rise and fall of Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar and the Drug Enforcement Agency agents hunting him. The story is told largely from the points of view of Escobar (Brazilian actor Wagner Moura) and U.S. DEA Agent Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook), on opposite sides of what would become an all-out war.

Many critics of true crime dramas have always complained they are promoting crime and violence by glorification, an unintended consequence of American entertainment industries. These shows can have other interesting consequences. The Foreign Bride industry has seen a huge spike in demand for Colombian women. This can be viewed as positive or negative, depending on social perspective.

Foreign Brides, sometimes referred to as "mail order brides", a term the industry completely rejects, have become a billion dollar a year business. According to industry leaders, Colombia represented only about 3% of the market three years ago. Since the popularity of Narcos, many companies have seen near tenfold increases in men seeking Colombian wives.

A Foreign Affair (AFA), a company that helps men find women through international tours, says tours to Colombia are now selling out. AFA arranges group tours where 10 to 20 men travel together to Medellin, Cartagena or Barranquilla. During the tour, they attend arranged Social events where the men meet hundreds of beautiful Colombian women looking for marriage. Women can also place their profiles on the AFA web site, in the hopes of finding a husband.

Kenneth Agee, the marketing director for AFA says, "Because of the show we are doubling our tours to Medellin for next year. Narcos has brought a lot of attention to the intense beauty of Colombian women. Although the show is often very violent, the women of Colombia come across as very family oriented and loyal. These values seem harder and harder to find in this world. I would have to agree, because of the interest in Narcos, we even added an excursion to where Pablo's self-built prison was located, in the hills overlooking Medellin.

The crowning of 2015 Miss Universe Paulina Vega put Barranquilla, Colombia on the map. Barranquilla now has recognition for being home to some of the most beautiful and talented women in the world. Not only is Miss Universe from here, Grammy Award winning pop singer Shakira, and actress Sofia Vergara also call Barranquilla home. Vergara stars on the ABC series Modern Family as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett. She's been nominated for 4 Golden Globe Awards, 4 Prime time Emmy Awards, and 7 Screen Actors Guild Awards, all stemming from this role. In 2014, she was ranked as the 32nd Most Powerful Woman in the world by Forbes.

David from Mesa AZ says he met more qualified women in one week than he has during the last 10 years. In 2010, Lisa Ling and the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) filmed a one hour show on the AFA tour called "Online Brides - Our America with Lisa Ling." Even Lisa Ling was surprised by the beauty and sincerity of the women from Barranquilla.

Janet Davis, head of a women's rights group says "AFA is just taking advantage of women from these third world countries. This is no different than Pablo trafficking in narcotics, but these companies traffic women." Proponents refer to a Report (INTERNATIONAL MATCHMAKING ORGANIZATIONS: A REPORT TO CONGRESS) that these marriages have much lower divorce rates and abuse rates compared to traditional domestic marriages. This data makes international dating similar to a woman in the US joining eHarmony to look for a husband.

23-year-old Viviana, from Cartagena, says "I come to these events because I know the men attending are serious about marriage, they are faithful and are good to family. For Colombian women, it is the most important thing, good husband and good family.

Kenneth says, "It has not been all rosy. Narcos has brought us some problems. In Cartagena, we have several Penthouses we rent out. One was originally owned by "Don Diego" head of the Norte Del Velle Drug Cartel, the other by Pablo's people. Over the past year, the properties have been tracked down by individuals thinking they will find large qualities of cash hidden, thus we sometimes find holes all over the walls after a tenant leaves.

For Narcos fans, those who love the gangster genre, or just those who just like seeing beautiful Latin women, there's good news; Netflix's has confirmed Season 3 and 4.
 

Tom O'Bedlam

Resident loon.
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Jan 17, 2015
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Imagine how much more money Pablo could have made and how much more global influence he could have had, had he known how to launder that money more effectively. International real-estate, shipping companies, construction, WEAPONS MANUFACTURING FOR CHRIST'S SAKES! The guy had enough money to become a power player in literally every industry across the globe. Instead he is burying it in fucking fields and letting rats just eat billions of dollars.

Worst. Money. Management. Ever.