Pablo Escobar's net worth: what happened to his money after passing?
Pablo Escobar is known as one of the wealthiest and most powerful men of all time. He was a drug kingpin who made insane amounts of money every day. He ran The Medellin Drug Cartel, known as one of the most violent gangs in history. Discover Pablo Escobar's net worth and where his money went after his demise.
Source: Getty Images
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Profile summary
- What was Pablo Escobar's net worth?
- Finding Escobar's Millions - the TV show
- How did Escobar die?
- Did Pablo Escobar leave any family members behind?
- Which drug did Pablo sell?
- How much money did Pablo Escobar spend on rubber bands?
- How much money did Pablo Escobar lose to rats?
- Pablo Escobar vs El Chapo's net worth
- Key facts about Pablo Escobar
Drug peddling and money laundering are some illegal activities that some people engage in to get rich quickly. However, it is a risky affair as governments are always hunting for such people. In Colombia, drug lords have been in constant battles with the authorities. Pablo Escobar's money, which he amassed from this trade, is still being discovered to date.
Profile summary
| Full name | Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria |
| Known for | Colombian drug lord |
| Gender | Male |
| Date of birth | 1 December 1949, Rionegro, Colombia |
| Died | 2 December 1993, Medellín, Colombia |
| Buried | 3 December 1993, Cemetario Jardins Montesacro, Itagüí |
| Nationality | Colombian |
| Siblings | Roberto, Luis Fernando, Alba Marina, Argemiro, Luz María and Gloria Inés |
| Wife | Maria Victoria Henao |
| Children | Manuela and Sebastián Marroquín |
| Net worth | $30 billion |
What was Pablo Escobar's net worth?
At the time of Pablo Escobar's death in 1993, the drug cartel leader was worth about $30 billion. He had accumulated his wealth by engaging illegal drug trade. He was considered one of the wealthiest criminals in history.
How much would Pablo Escobar be worth today?
Pablo Escobar's highest net worth today would be around $70 billion. Escobar amassed a vast fortune through his notorious drug empire.
How much did Pablo Escobar make per day?
It is alleged that Pablo received over $50 million in cash each day through his prohibited substance sales. His cartel, The Medellin Drug Cartel, was extremely powerful, and at its peak, it supplied about 80% of illegal substances in America. His cartel muggled 15 tonnes of illegal substances in the United States of America every day.
Since the authorities were after him, he was always on the run. At one point, he offered the Republic of Colombia $10 billion for a full pardon for his crime.
Source: Getty Images
He once burned $2 million to keep warm while on the run, and every year, he wrote off $500 million as spoilage. At the height of its operations, the cartel raked in more than $70 million daily. He made about $420 million every week from his illegal trade.
What happened to Pablo Escobar's money?
After his demise, the Colombian government acquired a significant portion of the drug lord's money. The authorities also forced his family to sign over any liquid assets left behind. In addition, the government seized money that it could trace to his close associates.
His rivals also acquired some of his money and assets. The Cali cartel and Los PEPES wanted payment for their involvement in taking down the kingpin. The two groups forced the family to sign over any liquid asset left by the government. The cartel members stole assets and cash from the family.
Some of the drug lord's cartel members also looted the remaining money for personal gains. They desired to remain financially stable after the demise of their leader.
The little remaining money is what his immediate family lived on after his death. The drug lord did not leave a specific amount of money for his children in case of demise. However, Roberto and Alba Marina, two of his siblings, had some access to his estate.
After the children ran out of money to live on, his son Sebastian asked his aunt Alba to retrieve $60 million from a secret hiding place. Alba came back and said there was barely any money left. Sebastián claimed his aunt stole the money.
He further claimed his uncle Robert betrayed the family and wrote a book with false claims for personal gains. Due to security issues, the drug lord's immediate family moved across different countries. Eventually, they settled in Argentina, where they lived a middle-class life.
What happened to Pablo Escobar's houses?
The drug lord's houses have been converted into tourist attraction sites and a hotel, as explored below.
Hacienda Nápoles
Pablo's most known property, called Hacienda Nápoles, was located in Puerto Triunfo, Columbia. The property featured a Spanish colonial house, airport, zoo, and kart-racing track.
He had imported hippopotamuses from Africa. They have since reproduced, and a herd of them are still on the property. Today, Hacienda Nápoles is a theme park.
La Catedral
When he was captured and arrested, the wealthy drug king negotiated with the authorities to build his prison instead of going to the regular ones. He lived like a king in the prison he constructed known as La Catedral.
The property featured a bar, disco area for hosting wedding receptions, jacuzzi, sauna, waterfall, and billiards room. He also had a full-size dollhouse for when his daughter Manuela Escobar would visit.
Interestingly, police officers were not allowed within 12 miles of his prison. After his demise, the property remained deserted. However, a group of Benedictines transformed it into a meditation site for people who wish to get a break from the city.
La Manuela party mansion
The Escobar family used La Manuela as a vacation or party mansion. Pablo Escobar's mansion was constructed for five years, and the family spent ample time there.
However, a rival cartel destroyed a large portion of it in 1993. Today, it is a tourist attraction site open to the public.
Tulum house
The drug lord also had a luxurious house in Tulum, Mexico. The property was also deserted for a while. In 2012, Lio Malca, a gallery owner and art collector, purchased it. Malca turned it into a boutique hotel called Casa Malca. The hotel features his art collections.
Isla Grande house
Source: Getty Images
The drug lord also owned a luxurious property on Island Grande in the Caribbean. The property featured separate apartments, a swimming pool, and a helipad.
It was believed that the separate apartments hosted his cartel members. Today, the property is in a dilapidated state. It is half demolished and is home to wild animals.
Miami house
Before his demise, the drug Lord owned a 6,500-square-foot mansion in Miami Beach. The luxurious home featured four bedrooms.
The American government seized the property when he was still alive and sold it to another person. In 2016, its new owner, Christian de Berdouare, chose to demolish the house and replace it with one that met his needs.
During the demolition process, de Berdouare found a metal safe. He found a second safe beneath the floor, but it was stolen. The first one is stored in a bank vault and has never been opened.
Was Pablo Escobar's money found on a farm?
In 2015, Jose Mariena Cartolos found a sum of $600,000,000 in several big blue containers as he was digging trenches for irrigation on his family land. The money was believed to be part of the drug lord's fortune.
Cartolos surrendered the money to the authorities. He was awarded a $3,000 grant from the Colombian government for surrendering the money.
Is Pablo Escobar's money still buried?
The drug lord was notorious for hiding stacks of cash in walls, beneath the floors, and in other hidden spaces. He did so when evading arrest, so his money is still being discovered.
In 2020, news headlines indicated that Pablo's money was found inside a wall in one of his homes. His nephew, who found it, reported that it was about $18 million and claimed that a vision told him exactly where to look for the money:
Every time I sat in the dining room and looked towards the car park, I saw a man entering the place and disappearing...The smell was astonishing. A smell 100 times worse than something that had died.
However, some of the notes were already damaged and unusable. He added that it was not the first time he had discovered money in the property in which he had lived for five years. He had also found a gold pen, an undeveloped roll of film, satellite phones, and a typewriter.
Finding Escobar's Millions - the TV show
In November 2017, a television show called Finding Escobar's Millions started airing. The documentary series was about finding any remaining money the drug lord may have hidden.
In the show, two ex-CIA agents travelled to Colombia on a mission to unearth the millions of dollars he buried. They used modern technology to locate any hidden cash.
How did Escobar die?
The drug kingpin was fatally shot by Colombian policemen in 1993. The event followed his hideout being unearthed by the cops, who had been searching for him for a while.
Did Pablo Escobar leave any family members behind?
Source: Getty Images
The drug kingpin was married to Maria Victoria Henao, with whom he had two children. His son, Juan, changed his name to Marroquin, and his daughter's name is Manuela.
What is Pablo Escobar's son's net worth?
Escobar's son Sebastián Marroquin has an estimated net worth of $30 million. He is an architect in Argentina, but he has visited Columbia several times to pay his respects at his father's grave. He is also an author, having written about life in a drug dealer's home.
Did Pablo Escobar's son inherit the money?
The specific wealth inherited by Pablo Escobar's son remains undisclosed due to the confidential nature of the inheritance arrangements.
What is Pablo Escobar's wife's net worth?
His wife, Maria Victoria Henao, has an estimated net worth of $30 million. Maria was born in 1961 and was married to Pablo for 17 years. She is a designer and businesswoman who currently lives in Buenos Aires.
Which drug did Pablo sell?
The drug lord was known for supplying prohibited substances in the United States of America. At one point, his cartel supplied about 80% of the prohibited substances in the state.
How much money did Pablo Escobar spend on rubber bands?
The drug lord made so much money weekly that he spent about $2500 weekly on rubber bands. His brother Roberto made this revelation.
How much money did Pablo Escobar lose to rats?
His brother Roberto reported that about 10% of his money, which amounts to about $2.1 billion, was lost to rats or destroyed by the elements.
Pablo Escobar vs El Chapo's net worth
Pablo Escobar and El Chapo are widely regarded as the world's most powerful drug traffickers. El Chapo, also known as Joaquin Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, is a former Mexican drug lord who was the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, a transnational criminal organisation.
When the net worths of the two drug lords are compared, Pablo made more money because the Medellin Cartel's net worth was $30 billion. El Chapo, on the other hand, has a net worth of $1 billion.
Key facts about Pablo Escobar
- His father was a farmer, while his mother was a schoolteacher.
- He married Maria Victoria Henao, who was then just 15.
- He bought a Learjet specifically for flying his cash.
- He was first arrested in 1974.
- He tried to pay off Colombia's debt.
- In 1989, Forbes magazine declared him as the world’s 7th-richest man.
- Before getting into the drug trade, he sold stolen tombstones to smugglers and stole cars.
- He ordered the killing of numerous civilians and government officials.
- He bought a lot of rubber bands to organize his money.
- He was blamed for bombing Avianca Flight 203 in 1989.
- He died on 2 December 1993, just a day after his 44th birthday.
By the time of his death, Pablo Escobar's net worth was estimated to be about $30 billion. He amassed his fortune from drug dealing. After his demise, most of the money was acquired by the government, the Medellin Drug Cartel members, and his rivals.
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Cyprine Apindi (Lifestyle writer) Cyprine Apindi is a content creator and educator with over six years of experience. She holds a Diploma in Mass Communication and a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from Kenyatta University. Cyprine joined Briefly.co.za in mid-2021, covering multiple topics, including finance, entertainment, sports, and lifestyle. In 2023, she finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques. She received the 2023 Writer of the Year Award. In 2024, she completed the Google News Initiative course. Email: cyprineapindi@gmail.com
Adrianna Simwa (Lifestyle writer) Adrianna Simwa is a content writer at Legit.ng where she has worked since mid-2022. She has written for many periodicals on a variety of subjects, including news, celebrities, and lifestyle, for more than three years. She has worked for The Hoth, The Standard Group and Triple P Media. Adrianna graduated from Nairobi University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in 2020. In 2023, Simwa finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques. You can reach her through her email: adriannasimwa@gmail.com
