Imagine a gangster, crime lord or drug lord and you probably think of
bloodshed, guns, fast money and a rich lifestyle. Gangsters are also
known to make a lot of money, even though the ways they do so often
lacks integrity. From drug trafficking to different forms of financial
scams, crime is extremely lucrative.
Al Capone
Al
Capone, the American gangster who ran the Chicago Mafia, made most of
his money during prohibition. By 1929, Capone's income from the various
aspects of his business included: $60 million from illegal alcohol, $25
million from gambling establishments, $10 million from vice and another
$10 million from various other rackets. It is claimed that Capone was
employing over 600 gangsters to protect his business from rival gangs.
Based on inflation, his empire would be worth about $1.3 billion today.
Pablo Escobar
Pablo
Escobar controlled the majority of the cocaine in Colombia and built
his wealth by flooding the U.S. market with the drug. Forbes named
Escobar one of the richest men in the world seven years in a row. By
1987, Escobar controlled an estimated 40 percent of the Medellin drug
cartel's business. In 1989, based on public records, Forbes valued his
net worth at $3 billion. Clearly this was a very conservative estimate,
considering he offered to pay off the national debt of Colombia, which
stood at $10 billion at the time. According to CelebrityNetWorth.com,
his net worth was $30 billion, all profits from his cocaine business.
Frank Lucas
Frank
Lucas had a unique business model. He would procure heroin directly
from opium king Khun Sa in Vietnam. Lucas hid heroin in coffins and flew
them in from Vietnam to the United States. He was supposedly making $1
million a day at the peak of his business, and had an estimated $52
million stashed away in the Cayman Islands.
Griselda Blanco
Griselda
Blanco, also known as the Black Widow, was a drug lord for Pablo
Escobar's Medellin cartel. Reports claim that she was worth $2 billion
at her peak. She was best known for her ruthless contract killings.
Ironically, she was recently shot by a contract killer in Medellin.
Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood
Ibrahim allegedly orchestrated the Mumbai bomb blasts in 2008. Starting
off as a small time hustler, he has now become a global player in the
terror network. He is said to have close ties with terrorist groups like
Al-Qaeda. He is also said to be worth about $6.7 billion.
Xie Caiping
Xie
Caiping ran a gambling racket in cahoots with several government
officials. She is currently serving 18 years in jail. Her gambling den
has made $293,000 since 2004.
Semion Mogilevich
As
an economics graduate, Semion Mogilevich has a diversified portfolio.
His financial crimes include wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering
and securities fraud. He is said to be worth $10 billion.
José Figueroa Agosto
Puerto
Rican drug lord José Figueroa Agosto is said to have amassed millions
from his drug racketeering. He rose in the ranks of his criminal
organization after killing a driver who allegedly stole a shipment of
cocaine. After being caught and convicted for the murder, he was
sentenced to more than 200 years in prison. However, he walked out of
prison with a forged order of release. His organization was controlling
90 percent of the drug traffic from the Dominican Republic to Puerto
Rico. CelebrityNetWorth.com estimates he was worth $100 million. He is
currently facing 205 years in prison.
