Monday, September 14, 2015

Legendary drug lord Pablo Escobar lost $2.1 billion in cash each year — and it didn't matter

At the peak of his power, infamous Medellín cartel boss Pablo Escobar brought in an estimated $420 million a week in revenue, easily making him one of the wealthiest drug lords in history.  Escobar, known as the "king of cocaine," saw his wealth grow so immense that he stashed 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...more

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