For those of you that read part one and noticed that there were some big time names missing, we hope we’ve made it up to you here with part two.
Law abiding citizens understand that crime does not pay. However, criminals have a different opinion. Even if engaging in criminal acts can be a risky affair, some people have made a fortune from these illegal activities. The following are some of the wealthiest drug dealers of all time.
1. “Freeway” Rick Ross:
Fortune: $800 Million
During the height of his drug career in Los Angeles throughout the 80s, the shady character, often confused with rapper Rick Ross (who he actually sued once for stealing his name and image, but we’ll talk about that another day!), claimed to have been selling over $3 million dollars-worth of crack every day. Ross’s operation is alleged to have purchased in excess of 400 kilos of cocaine a week before being sentenced to life imprisonment in 1996 but was released in 2009. Single-handedly, he is often considered to be responsible for the crack cocaine epidemic in the world.
2. Griselda Blanco:
Fortune: $2 billion
Griselda Blanco started doing illegal activities at an early age. She abducted a child when she was only 11 years old. She asked for a ransom and also killed that child. She became a dreaded gangster who was called the Cocaine Godmother. She is a Colombian who worked with a cartel called the Medellin Cartel. It was said that she killed three husbands and forced men into having sex with her at gunpoint. She was shot in the year 2012.
3. Carlos Lehder:
Fortune: $2.7 billion
Carlos Lehder is among the founding members of the Medellin Cartel, and he is also the most influential. He is a German-Colombian drug dealer. He got his wealth through the Quintin Lame Movement and the Cocaine Transport Empire. He was among the people who successfully brought cocaine into South Florida. He was arrested for the first time when he was young, but this didn’t deter him from a life of crime.
Also read: The Wealthiest Drug Lords Of All Time (Part One)
4. Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela And Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela:
Fortune: $3 Billion
In 1970s, Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, and his two brothers Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela and José Santacruz Londoño, formed the Cali Cartel. Initially, they were primarily involved in marijuana trafficking. In the year 1980s, they started cocaine trafficking as well. For a short interval, the Cali Cartel supplied 80% of the United States cocaine market through Rodriguez’s son, Jorge Alberto Rodriguez, and 90% of the European cocaine market.
5. Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha:
Fortune: $5 billion
Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha was killed when he was only 42 years old. He made enemies in governments and in other cartels. He was a well-known killer and a drug trafficker, but he also helped people in Pacho where he renovated the buildings in town. He was the owner of a jungle laboratory called Tranquilandia, that made and packed cocaine.
6. Khun Sa:
Fortune: 5 billion
Khun Sa was born in Burma, and he was in the Burmese Army in Kuomkintang. After some time, he fought and established a territory that allowed him to do his opium smuggling in the Golden Triangle temple. He was known as the Opium King. When the American Drug Enforcement Agency stopped his connections to the international brokers, he then closed his operations and went to live large with a mistress in Yangon.
7. Jose Luis Ochoa Vasquez with his brothers:
Fortune: $6 billion
Jorge, Fabio and Juan David Ochoa are members of the Medellin Cartel. The brothers became well known for manufacturing, distributing and marketing of cocaine. The brothers also had a cattle breeding business and restaurants. Since they were very powerful, any attempt to eradicate them failed, and they said that any attempt to kill any of them would lead to the murder of the Columbian judges.
8. Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar:
Fortune: $6.7 billion
Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar was born in the city of Mumbai In India. He was the founder of the D-company, a crime syndicate that was organized in the country of India. He was known as a global terrorist. He is known for targeted killing, extortion, drug trafficking, murder and terrorism. He is believed to live in Pakistan and to have a Pakistani passport. The police have failed to find him and bring him to justice
Others Also Read: 15 Craziest Drugs You Probably Never Knew Existed
9. Amado Carrillo Fuentes:
Fortune: $25 billion
Amado Carrillo Fuentes was the second person in command in his cartel, but because of his desire to be the boss, he ended up killing the boss of the Juarez Cartel. He had two jets that smuggled large amounts of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico. He had plastic surgery done to avoid being caught by the police; however, it was his bodyguards who ended up killing him.
10. Pablo Escobar:
Fortune: $30 billion
Pablo Escobar is the richest and also the most influential person in the cocaine industry. He was born poor in the country of Colombia and tried his best to get out of poverty. He ended up being one of the richest people. He bribed the officials and exchanged silver to get bullets. He was a ruthless killer who was known to protect his family. He was in control of over 80 percent of the entire cocaine business in the whole world.
