Top 10 Pablo Escobar Facts
He may be one of the most infamous criminals of all time, but he's also a fascinating figure.
Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we count down our picks for the Top 10 Most Interesting Facts about Pablo Escobar. For this list, we're looking at exciting and intriguing facts about Pablo Escobar, a Colombian drug lord who reigned throughout the 1970s and '80s and made headlines across the world due to his immense wealth, dangerous status, and revolutionary drug distribution network.
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Top 10 Pablo Escobar Facts
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He may be one of the most infamous criminals of all time, but he's also a fascinating figure. Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we count down our picks for the Top 10 Most Interesting Facts about Pablo Escobar. For this list, we’re looking at exciting and intriguing facts about Pablo Escobar, a Colombian drug lord who reigned throughout the 1970s and ‘80s and made headlines across the world due to his immense wealth, dangerous status, and revolutionary drug distribution network. However, we’re not ranking the facts in terms of quality; instead, we’ll be going chronologically throughout the relatively short life of one of the world’s most notorious criminals.
#10: Colombia Was Violent Before Pablo Escobar Was Born
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While Pablo Escobar may’ve contributed greatly to Colombia’s violence and the perception of the country as a dangerous one, it wasn’t exactly the safest place to live before he was alive, either. Born the third of seven children to a farmer and schoolteacher in 1949, Escobar was immediately thrust into a hazardous society. Throughout the 1940s and ‘50s, Colombia was actually going through a period of political turmoil known as La Violencia, which literally means “the violence.” This stemmed from the assassination of Liberal Party presidential candidate Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, with the ensuing civil war claiming over 180,000 lives.
#9: Kidnapping and Petty Crimes Made Escobar a Millionaire at 22
Escobar had his sights and ambitions set on wealth and power from his teenage years, ever since he was a petty thief selling fake lottery tickets and scamming people on the street. This escalated into more serious crimes in his late teens, such as trafficking marijuana and stealing cars. In his early 20s, he dabbled in kidnapping - taking an executive from his hometown of Medellin and ransoming him for $100,000, which is roughly the equivalent of $600,000 today. All of this made Escobar a millionaire by the time he was 22. Apparently, crime DOES pay!
#8: Escobar Killed His Way to the Top
As you can imagine, a gang or crime family is bound to be full of violence and betrayal. Escobar knew that there was only one way to the top, and he took his chance. In 1975, at just 26 years old, Escobar wished to make a deal with the Medellin syndicate head, Fabio Restrepo, which involved 14 kilos of cocaine. Yet because he was viewed merely as a petty street criminal, Escobar allegedly had Restrepo killed. He then informed Restrepo’s employees that they now worked for him, effectively taking charge and beginning his ascension to drug baron.
#7: If He Couldn’t Bribe You, He’d Kill You
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Escobar made many friends and acquaintances in law enforcement throughout his tenure as drug baron, often paying them off so they would turn a blind eye to his illegal practices. Obviously, not everyone took the bribe, resulting in his famous saying “plata o plomo,” meaning “silver or lead.” In other words, take the bribe or be killed. This resulted in thousands of deaths, including the famous bombing of Avianca Flight 203, which killed 107 innocent people, and the DAS Building bombing, which killed another 52. It’s estimated that Escobar was behind between 4,000-5,000 deaths in total.
#6: His Pilots Could Earn Up to $500,000 Per Flight
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Before Escobar hit it big, he would personally fly small planes into the United States, with cocaine hidden in the tires. However, once his business took off, he began to employ professional pilots, who would smuggle in tons of cocaine for him. Oh, and we’re not being vague here. We mean that they would literally fly tons – as much as 11! - on one flight. And depending on how much coke a given pilot was able to smuggle across, he could make up to $500,000 per flight! With a paycheck like that, it’s no wonder Escobar’s employees were so happy.
#5: He Was Insanely Rich
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Yeah, being a drug baron is a sure way to make some good money, right? No, we mean he was INSANELY rich. As in officially recognized as “the seventh richest man in the world by Forbes” rich. Escobar’s brother states that in the cartel’s heyday, they were spending up over $1000 per week on rubber bands just to tie their stacks of cash together! Escobar was supplying 80% of the United States’ cocaine, and by the ‘90s, he was officially worth $30 billion. He even built a grandiose mansion on an island paradise and once burned $2 million in order to keep his family warm.
#4: He Became Involved in Politics to Fight Extradition
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What’s a career path that you probably never associate with cocaine manufacturers and smugglers? If your answer is politics, then you’re underestimating the power of good old Pablo! In 1982, Escobar was elected as an alternate member of the Chamber of Representatives while he was well into his drug empire days. As a member of the Colombian Liberal Party, he aimed to gain enough influence in the country’s politics to fight extradition. Escobar knew that he could never bribe his way around the law in the United States, and Colombian politician Rodrigo Lara Bonilla’s public denouncement of Escobar and drug trafficking only fuelled his hatred of the government.
#3: He Loved the Poor and the Poor Loved Him
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Often considered a modern day Robin Hood, Escobar often gave much of his riches to the poor, which garnered him praise and devotion. In fact, there’s a neighborhood in Medellin that still bears his name. Escobar was well known for his contributions to the city, which included sponsoring local children’s football teams and building sports complexes, schools and churches for the poor. In return, the poor defended Escobar until the end. Literally. When he died in 1993, over 25,000 people showed up for his funeral, many of them members of the poor who still felt gratitude for his generosity.
#2: He Caused Colombia to Become the Murder Capital of the World
It’s a given that with the drug business comes violence. However, as we touched on previously, there was no limit to the extent of Escobar’s wrath. His powerful influence and the wars that raged between cartels during his time led Colombia to become the murder capital of the world in the early ‘90s. In fact, the country suffered over 27,000 violent deaths in 1992 alone, which is equal to roughly 74 murders a day! What was his punishment for all of this? A personally designed jail, complete with a waterfall, bar, Jacuzzi, and personal football field. To say he got off easy is a massive understatement.
#1: The Endgame
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What was the final result for Escobar? Let’s just say it didn’t turn out well for him. In 1992, a vigilante group calling themselves Los Pepes emerged, fighting fire with fire, burning down Escobar’s compounds and killing family members. U.S. intelligence agencies began working with Colombian forces, and through radio triangulation technology, they were able to locate Escobar in Medellin, which ultimately resulted in a shootout across rooftops in 1993. While Escobar was fatally shot through the ear, it is still disputed whether the bullet came from the authorities or whether he pulled the trigger himself. Whichever the case, maybe crime doesn’t pay after all… So, did you learn something new about Escobar? Did we leave any interesting facts out? For more informative top tens published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com
