Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian gang leader and drug lord who is best known for founding and running the “Medellin Cartel” in the 1970s and 1980s.Due to his role in the cocaine trade, he is said to be one of the wealthiest criminals in history amassing a fortune of over 30 billion dollars through crime and drug trafficking, and was named one of the ten richest people on earth by Forbes. How did this son of a farmer and a school teacher wind up one of the richest men on the planet? Let’s find out about Pablo Escobar’s life story.
Crazy life of Pablo Escobar-
Pablo Escobar, a man who at the peak of his powers, distributed 80% of the world’s cocaine. He was so rich that he burned 2 million dollars in cash to keep his daughter warm. He was so powerful when the Colombian government told him to go to prison, he built his own prison “La Cathedral”.
Pablo Escobar was making 70 million U.S. dollars per day. He spent 2500 dollars per week on rubber bands to wrap around the stored cash in warehouses. Reportedly 10% of the cash or 7 million dollars a day was written off because of rats eating it. He had 142 aeroplanes, 20 helicopters, 32 ships, and 141 houses.
Pablo Escobar and his criminal cartel were responsible for the death of over 4000 people including around 200 judges and 1000 police, journalists, and government officials. Believing that presidential candidate César Gaviria would be one of the passengers, Escobar blew up Avianca Flight 203 plane with 107 people on board. Pablo purchased 20 kilometers of land to build his ranch the “Hacienda Napoles”, a luxury state that contained a full zoo of animals, a lake, a sculpture garden, a private bull ring, and a tennis court. While Escobar owned several plateaus homes, his most famous property was the 7000-acre estate called “Hacienda Napoles”. It cost 63 million dollars.
How did Pablo Escobar become the world’s biggest drug lord?
Pablo Escobar was born in the small city of Rio negro, Colombia on the 1st of December, 1949. Pablo’s father was a farmer and his mother was a schoolteacher. He got his start in crime by stealing sandstones, sandblasting the names from them, and selling them for a profit. Escobar also stole cars and it was this offense that resulted in his first arrest in 1974. Soon he found employment with local drug smugglers.
Escobar rose to prominence in Medellin after the kidnapping of Diego Echevarria. Pablo murdered Diego Echevarria, but for Pablo, a life of murder and kidnap didn’t pay enough. In the 1970s, he made a promise to earn himself a million Colombian dollars. By the time he was 22, he had managed to earn significantly more than this.
He wanted more and much more once spotted an opportunity. His life was about to change. Pablo understood the cocaine trade was a route to being wealthy. So, he began flying planes between Colombia and Panama, shipping cocaine to the U.S. Eventually, business went so well that he bought 15 planes and 6 helicopters including a large jet to carry his cash. He expanded his cocaine business all over the world.
Soon Pablo bought an island in the Bahamas, which became the main cocaine smuggling route between 1978 to 1982. Soon Escobar became the wealthiest person on the planet. However, he didn’t stop at planes; he used 2 submarines for cocaine shipments. In 1982, Escobar wanted to become the leader of Colombia, but he was defeated in the election by president Luis Carlos.
When Pablo Escobar’s crimes got out of control and became alarming for the world, a special force operation started against him. Pablo Escobar was shot and killed on December 2, 1993. over 25000 people attended his funeral. The government seized most of his money; it is said that Escober’s money is still hidden in many places.
Writer,
Nafis Wahid Nijhum
Intern, Content Writing Department
Youth School for Social Entrepreneurs, YSSE
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