Who might have heard about the richest billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Carlos Slim & Mukesh Ambani? Some belong to technology, Some belong to telecom, and some belong to Petrochemicals. But have you ever heard about an Illegal Drug Dealer billionaire?
They chose the wrong way to become rich and were successful in fooling the authorities for many years. Yet their story from a humble beginning to one of the world’s greatest criminals, warlords, gangsters etc. just doesn’t and here. Well, they made money, and their net worth can shame the top billionaires named in the Forbes list in the present times. Sorry, the intention is not to encourage you to go on the wrong path though.
1. Pablo Escobar the richest billionaire drug dealer- Made $56 billion (as per 2017 reports) every year selling cocaine
As the head of the Medellin Cartel, Durg lord Pablo Escobar as known as “The King of Cocaine” and was the wealthiest criminal in history, garnered both admirers and haters from his illegal cocaine business. For the locals, he was a demigod but for the law enforcement department, he was no more than a narco-terrorist and a famous Colombian drug lord who was slowly eating away goodness from the society with his illegal works. His main target was Americans(US) where he smuggled almost 80% of the cocaine in the early 1970s.
Pablo Escobar Gang used to spend over $1000 on weekly purchasing rubber bands to wrap the bundles of cash.
2. Amado Carrillo Fuentes – Made $25 billion (as per 2017 reports) every year selling cocaine and money laundering via Colombia
Mexican drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes was one large fish operating the Juarez Cartel via Colombia who made billions by setting up a large drug smuggling empire operating between Colombia and Mexico. Amado Carrillo had killed his boss Rafael Aguilar Guajardo in order to take over the reins of the smuggling cartels and be himself the king of the cocaine world. Another fascinating fact of his thriving business was his large fleet of flights through which he used to transport drugs. Hence he was also called “The Lord of the Skies”.
3. Dawood Ibrahim – Kingpin of an illegal arms organization from which he made $6.7 billion every year
A designated criminal and terrorist originally from Dongri in Mumbai, India who is currently in hiding in Karachi, Pakistan. He founded the notorious D-company in the 1970s which has been responsible for many terrorist attacks in India. He is under the “Most Wanted” list not only in India’s crime branch but also in the International circuit through which he expanded his illegal arms and ammunition business including the smuggling of heroin making him the third richest criminal in history.
4. The Ochoa Brothers – Became billionaires from smuggling heroin. Their net worth-$6 billion as part of the Medellin Cartel.
Called by many an extremely ruthless company and notorious personalities who churned billions from their illegal drug business. Rising up from a humble background and working in a steakhouse, soon they got acquainted with the notorious Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel and then their lives changed forever.
5. Khun Sa – Made billions from selling drugs and weapons. His net worth-$5 billion
This dangerous Burmese warlord was most popularly known by his Chinese name-Zhang Qifu who was the leader of the famous opium smuggling operations in the Golden Triangle adjoining, Vietnam, Burma, and Laos. He was also called the “worst enemy the world has” by the American ambassador to Thailand-William Brown. He was known to recruit young boys into his army (yeah he owned an army too whom he trained from his military training which he had achieved while being part of the Burmese army once) and get them addicted to opium smoking. He was also charged with many criminal offenses which can be termed the most insane and inhuman acts conducted ever in the history of mankind.
6. José Gonzalo Rodŕiguez Gacha – Another member of the Medellin Cartel who amassed $5 billion as his net worth to fund his extravagant lifestyle.
José Gonzalo aka El Mexicano, the gangster, the criminal who even appeared in the annual Forbes list of billionaires in 1988 edition. He was acknowledged once as the world’s most successful drug lords. His family was not well off and mostly relied upon their financial sustenance from their modest pig farm. After dropping from school he shifted to Muzo, Boyacá where he came in contact with Gilberto Molina Moreno for whom he worked as a notorious contract killer who was then called as the “Tsar” of emeralds in Boyacá. Soon he rose up the ranks of Molina’s men and then came in direct dealing with drug trafficking. It is from here that he started his own drug trafficking business and never looked back. Yet he preferred to die in his own hands rather than get caught by the law authorities.
7. The Rodríguez Orejuela Brothers – Became billionaires from drug trafficking. Net Worth-$3 billion. Not Bad!
The leaders of the Cali Cartel drug trafficking comprised of brothers Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela and José Santacruz Londoño who were active from 1977-1983 and were once dubbed as “Soviet KGB” by the US Drug Enforcement Administration for their alleged connection with blue collared authorities such as British and Israeli mercenaries, allies among various congeries, government informants, and intel groups. After breaking away from Pablo Escobar and his team of drug traffickers, the Rodriguez brothers started their cartel by teaming up with Helmer Herrera, also known as “Pacho” and became the master of almost 90% of the world’s cocaine business.
8. Carlos Lehder – Embarked on an illegal cocaine trafficking business whose net worth rose to $2.7 billion by the end of their tenure as drug lords
As one of the co-founders of the Medellin Cartel, Carlos Lehder who is currently lurking in an undisclosed prison in the United States ran a cocaine transport empire on Norman’s Cay Island, 210 miles off the Florida coast in the central Bahamas. Not only was he the kingpin of many illegal paramilitary organizations and drug smuggling groups, he also founded a neo-Nazi political party-The National Latin Movement whose main aim was to abrogate Colombia from its extradition treaty with the United States. He was born in Colombia and later took the citizenship of Germany to ease his drug business.
9. Griselda Blanco – Only lady drug lord is known as “Godmother of Cocaine” Net Worth-$2 billion.
Griselda aka “Godmother of Cocaine”, ran her dirty drug empire within Miami & Colombia during the 70s to 80s. At the peak of her tenure, she smuggled nearly 1,600 kgs (3,500 lb) of cocaine into the U.S. every month. Griselda Blanco’s net worth was estimated at $2 billion.
Celebs like Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jennifer Lopez, and Catalina Sandino Morena have played Griselda Blanco aka Godmother’s character on the big screen in her another biopic.
11. Zhenli Ye Gon – Mexican Chinese drug suspect –
Zhenli Ye Gon Mexica of Chinese origin accused of drug trafficking into Mexico from Asia. During the time of his arrest, police recovered US $207 and 18 million pesos from his house.
11. Billionaire drug lords
Pablo Escobar to Dawood Ibrahim to Carlos Lehder, one thing is common among all these listed inglorious billionaires is “ILLEGAL DRUGS”. Nobody was able to spend their lives in peace and not hiding from the law.
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