Cocaine king Pablo Escobar, the son of a farmer and a teacher, was synonymous with money and fame, albeit obtained very suspiciously. In 1989, Forbes magazine ranked him among the ten richest people in the world. At the time, his assets were estimated at 25 billion US dollars. He was the leader of the Medellin cartel and one of the most famous mobsters of all time. At the height of his power, Escobar claimed that only the Pope was more powerful than him in the world. Learn more amazing facts about this sower of death.
Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar he once declared that he is "just an honest man who exports flowers". In fact, at the peak of smuggling, he smuggled up to 80 tons of cocaine a month from Colombia to the United States. He started with four, which was later replaced by airplanes. Medellin, the hometown of Escobar, was considered the capital of cocaine smugglers and synonymous with terror (today it is a tourist attraction), which took place then in Mexico.
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He got rich with cocaine trafficking and murderous cruelty and is considered the deadliest criminal of his time. "Sometimes I am God. If I say someone must die, he is dead the same day.” and "Every empire is built with blood and fire.” are just two of his quotes that best sum up how he rose to wealth and fame. But all these are relatively well-known facts, so let's read on 9 amazing facts about Pablo Escobar, the greatest bandit of all time, which you probably don't know yet.
9 amazing facts about Pablo Escobar, the greatest gangster of all time:
1. Cocaine was smuggled in airplane tires
A pilot who smuggled cocaine could earn up to half a million dollars a day, depending on the amount of cocaine hidden in the tires.
2. In 1989, his fortune was estimated at 25 billion US dollars
In the same year, Forbes magazine ranked him seventh on the list of the richest people in the world. At the peak of his career, he earned $420 million a week!
3. He spent $2,500 a month on elastics
Elastic bands were used by the cartel to fasten the money, which was rushing from all sides like a torrent.
4. His two billion dollars were eaten by rats
According to his brother Roberto Escobar, at least ten percent of his banknotes were eaten by rats or it was destroyed by water. During the years of operation of his criminal organization, this meant more than two billion dollars!
5. He built a real empire
In the 1980s, when he controlled most of the world's cocaine production, he began building the Hacienda Nápoles empire near Doradal. In addition to a luxurious house, a swimming pool, an airport and a helipad, the property also had a zoo, where hippos, giraffes and other exotic animals lived.
6. He burned two million dollars to keep his family from getting cold
And we mean that literally! When his family hid in the mountains and his daughter Manuela fell ill, he burned banknotes to keep her from getting cold.
7. Attack on New York's World Trade Center
Police suspect his cartel was behind the 1993 bombing of New York's World Trade Center.
8. He is said to have about 15 thousand murders on his conscience
Escobar himself claimed to be responsible for around four thousand deaths, including the deaths of Colombian presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galan and Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara Bonilla. Most of the victims were police officers, government employees and journalists (approx. 1,000) and judges (approx. 200).
9. He wanted to pay off the Colombian national debt
In order to get the politician to change the extradition law, he offered Colombia to pay off its debt to other countries, which at the time amounted to 10 billion US dollars.
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