Pablo Escobar was the wealthiest drug lord in the world before. He was known as the “King of Cocaine” and was the son of a poor Colombian farmer in Antioquia, Colombia. At the age of 35, Pablo Escobar was one of the world’s wealthiest men and he had an estimated net worth of $30 billion. He was known as a wealthy narcoterrorist, drug lord and cocaine trafficker.
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was born on December 1, 1949 in Rionegro, Antioquia. He was shot and died at the age of 44 in Medellin, Colombia on December 2, 1993 while trying to escape from the Colombian National Police. His death led to the market domination of his greatest rival, Cali Cartel.
During his teenage years, Pablo Escobar decided to become a criminal. He claimed to be a millionaire at the early age of 22. His first crime came from stealing gravestones and selling them to smugglers. However, until now, his brother denies these allegations.
For the most part, Escobar’s crime activity involved Oscar Bernal Aguirre, his partner. Their crimes, mostly consisted of selling contraband cigarettes, stealing cars, selling fake lottery tickets and running street scams.
Here are the 25 insane facts about Pablo Escobar.
He is indeed one of the richest men in the world. Selling cocaine made him a billionaire.
Due to his overloaded wealth, Forbes magazine listed Escobar as one of the richest men in the world in 1989. His wealth brought him up to 7th place as the richest man in the world. After a year of announcing his wealth and political ambitions, he was shot and ended up dead in a violent gunfight with the police.
He was indeed the most famous supplier of cocaine at that time, monopolizing the market with 80%.
Strategies and techniques of a drug lord really matter. “The Medellin cartel smuggled the cocaine straight to the Florida coast. The Colombians and Americans counterparts would airdrop loads of cocaine to sea, then followed by rushing speedboats or fly it right in the countryside of Florida” according to Grillo, a journalist.
Pablo Escobar’s influence was incredible. He was the supplier of almost 80% of the cocaine that was being delivered in the United States.
Escobar’s extreme wealth became problematic when he was unable to stack and organize cash quickly enough. Due to his overloaded stacks of cash, he piled it in Colombian farming fields, warehouses and even in the walls of cartel member’s homes. It didn’t matter to the “King of Cocaine” if he lost $2.1 billion in profits each month because he had lots of billions being piled.
One of Escobar’s biggest problems was how to stack and pile money. Did you know that, in an attempt to remedy this, he spent $2,500 a month on rubber bands needed to hold stacks of bills together? How incredible!
At that time, Escobar’s daughter, Manuela, became hypothermic when the family was living in a hideout in the Medellin mountainside. Escobar decided to burn $2 million in crisp banknotes just to keep his daughter warm.
Despite being a drug lord in Colombia, Escobar showed his love and generosity to the people, especially to the poor living in Medellin. He built many hospitals, parks, schools, churches, sports stadiums and often distributed money to the poor. He provided a housing to local communities so nobody went homeless. Until these days, many consider Pablo Escobar to be their Robin Hood and their hero.
In 1991, Escobar was imprisoned to “La Catedral”. In his agreement with the Colombian government, he was allowed to select who will work with him in the prison. He was also allowed to run his cartel business and accept visitors inside the prison.
La Catedral was built and prepared with a soccer field, barbecue pit and patios. It was also nearby another compound, which was reserved for his family. The authorities of Colombia were not allowed within 3 miles of his prison.
He unsuccessfully tried to bribe the Medellin judges who were filing a case against him after he got arrested for the first time. After many months of legal procedures, Pablo killed the two arresting officers and the case was suddenly dropped. This became how Pablo Escobar dealt with high and low authorities. Just two options were given: bribe them or kill them.
As his business began to really take off, he started to bring drugs through plane tires. A pilot earned $500,000 per flight, depending on how much cocaine he could bring into the country.
It is not impossible for Escobar to make himself a politician. The power of money legitimized himself. Money talks, and even a criminal like Escobar could become a politician with enough of it. He once became a congressman and was given an automatic judicial immunity. In other words, he could no longer be prosecuted under the Colombian law. He was also given a diplomatic visa, which allowed him to travel to the USA and enjoy the mansions he bought in Miami, Florida.
He was confined in a luxury prison. The prison had comfortable waterbeds, entertainment systems and a spectacular view. To top it off, he was protected by his personal prison guards.
Escobar profited millions of dollars a day, so much that he essentially ran out of space to store his money. One brilliant way, he discovered, was to hide them inside the drums and bury them around the Colombian countryside. Even after his death, many drums were buried in or near properties Escobar owned in Colombia, Mexico and other countries.
During the time of Pablo, he killed three Colombian presidential candidates, the Justice Minister, Attorney General, over 200 judges, more than 1,000 police officers, dozens of journalists and countless ordinary citizens. He killed over 3,000 people.
Pablo Escobar was one of the richest people in the world. No wonder he had given many nicknames such as “The King of Cocaine”, Don Pablo (Lord Pablo), El Padrino (The Godfather), El Patrón (The Boss), El Señor (The Lord), El Mágico (The Magician), El Pablito (little Pablo) and El Zar de la Cocaína (The Tsar of Cocaine). That’s a lot of superlatives.
Pablo Escobar was 15 when he fell in love with his best friend’s sister, Maria Victoria, 13. Two years later, Pablo decided to marry Victoria at the age of 15 while Pablo was 17. They were blessed to have two children together, Juan Pablo and Manuela.
Pablo loved, respected and valued his family. He loved his children so very much that he forced one of his mistresses to abort her child when she became pregnant. He did this, he claims, because he promised his daughter that she would be his last child.
Pablo used to hire beauty queens for a night for entertainment with his closest friends. The women would run naked to an expensive car and whoever got in first would be the winner and got to keep it. He would also force them to shave their heads, swallow insects, or engage in naked tree climbing contests for his entertainment.
With the threat of being extradited hanging over his head, Escobar made an agreement with the Colombian government. One of those agreements was he will create his own luxurious private prison, which he named “La Catedral”. The prison must be built according to Escobar’s specifications and he could also choose his own guards.
The prison included a soccer field, Jacuzzi, bar, waterfall and a giant dollhouse.
If you have enough money, nothing is impossible. When Pablo’s daughter decided that she wanted a unicorn, he gave her one immediately. He stapled a cone to a horse’s head and wings on its back. The horse later died due to infection.
In 1979, Escobar constructed a luxurious country estate (Hacienda Los Nápoles) on a 7,400-acre ranch. The land for the ranch cost him $63 million.
Escobar hired over 700 servants to keep it well maintained. Inside the Hacienda Napoles you could find pinball machines, billiard tables, bars, TV’s and jukeboxes. There was also a private bullfighting ring, six swimming pools and lakes where it would be possible to jet ski. It even had its own personal zoo, which contained hundreds of exotic animals that ranged from lions, rhinos, elephants, zebras, camels, ostriches, and more.
Pablo Escobar wanted to kill the presidential candidate César Gaviria Trujillo. He planted a bomb on Avianca Airlines 203 where 110 people died, including two Americans.
On December 2, 1993, Pablo Escobar was shot in his leg, torso, and a fatal shot in his ear. Most people believed that he committed a suicide while others say he was shot by a policeman.
The place where he died was the exact place where Escobar wanted to shoot himself if ever cornered. Unfortunately, the truth will never be known.
Seeing the largest casino on the planet is frequently a dream come true for both…
Discovering new casinos throughout the world is a never-ending journey for tourists who have a…
Iceland is a land of mesmerizing landscapes and breathtaking natural wonders. From cascading waterfalls to…
In a world where pixels and polygons are as much a part of our lives…
England is widely known for its cosmopolitan capital, London, and the tranquil countryside in its southern…
The bathroom is often considered a utilitarian space, but with the right design elements and…