Astonishing Facts About Drug Kingpin Pablo Escobar

The name Pablo Escobar needs no introduction. He has dominated the drug business all across the world for quite a long period of time. The drug kingpin is also known with the name “The King of Cocaine.” He transported cocaine to almost all parts of the world. As a result, Escobar became stinking rich personality. It was so much so that he once burnt about two million dollars to keep his ill daughter warm.  The Columbian kingpin was so ruthless that he ruled the world’s most complex drug trade and also killed thousands of people in the process. Here are some of the unknown facts about the drug lord:

Pablo Escobar lived like a king in his extravagant estate located in Puerto Triunfo. He also owned a zoo at his estate. The zoo had many animals like hippos, giraffes and elephants. Hippos can still be located roaming at this place.

Image Source: www.simonsjamjar.com

1King Status

The drug lord was ruthless in his approach. He achieved the king status by killing almost four thousand people who came on his way. His list of killing included approximately 200 judges and 1,000 police personnel, journalists and other government officials.

Image Source: www.businessinsider.com

2Pablo Escobar's Success

Pablo Escobar was such a successful drug lord that his Medellin cartel was responsible for almost 80 percent of the cocaine that was sent to the United States in the 1980s.

Image Source: www.britannica.com

3Escobar used to sell stolen tombstones to smugglers

Before making it big in the drug business, Escobar used to sell stolen tombstones to smugglers. He was also in the business of stealing cars. He was already from criminal background before venturing into the drug business.

Image Source: www.parhlo.com

4Escobar's Family

Pablo Escobar had relatively humble beginnings. His father was a farmer and his mother was a school teacher. He was born in Rionegro, Colombia in 1949.

Image Source: www.biography.com

5Pablo's Marriage

Pablo Escobar got married in the year 1976. He was 27-year-old when he got married. He married Maria Victoria Henao Vellejo, who was then just 15.

Image Source: www.royalvegascasino.com

6Pablo burnt about two million dollars

Pablo Escobar had to go in hiding many times. Once during his hiding with family, he burnt about two million dollars to keep his ill daughter Manuela warm.

Image Source: heightline.com

7The drug lord once owned Learjet specifically to transfer his cash.

Image Source: buyaircrafts.com

8Smuggling in airplane tires 

Pablo Escobar is also believed to have smuggled cocaine in airplane tires. With this, the pilots could have earned as much as $5,00,000 per day. The earning of pilot depended on how much products they flew.

Image Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

9Pablo Escobar once offered to pay Columbia’s debt

Pablo Escobar once offered to pay Columbia’s debt in an attempt to change the law of extradition. The debt was estimated at 10 billion dollars.

Image Source: www.uselessdaily.com

10$2500 For rubber Bands

As per reports, Pablo Escobar used to spend around $2500 per month on rubber bands which used to hold his cash.

Image Source: www.youtube.com

11Pablo Escobar is known to be a stinking rich guy. His earnings peaked to estimated 30 billion dollars.

Image Source: www.businessinsider.com

12Forbes list of billionaires 1989

While there is no doubt that Pablo Escobar earned big, it was also recognized by Forbes. His name featured in Forbes’ billionaires' list of the world’s richest people seven times in a row starting in 1987. His rankings peaked to number 7 in 1989.

Image Source: www.express.co.uk

13Authorities in Columbia seized his property

In the later part of the 1980s, the authorities in Columbia seized some of his enormous fleets. It included 142 planes, 20 helicopters, 32 yachts, and 141 homes and offices.

Image Source: www.businessinsider.com

14Pablo bought two submarines for transportation

The drug lord’s business expanded to such levels that he owned several transporting vehicles in his fleet. In addition to planes, helicopters, cars, trucks and boats, he also bought two submarines for transportation of cocaine into the United States.

Image Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

15Pablo Escobar’s career

It is estimated that, when Pablo Escobar’s career was at the peak, he smuggled up to 15 tonnes of cocaine every day.

Image Source: www.thesun.co.uk

16Robinhood

Though he was a feared drug lord who killed many people, Pablo Escobar also supported poor people. His support of the poor earned him a nickname “Robinhood.”

Image Source: www.seriousfacts.com

17The drug lord Pablo Escobar was also known with the names of "Don Pablo" and "El Patron.

Image Source: www.side3.no

18The Power Of Positive Thinking

When authorities raided the Escobar’s home, they found a Spanish translation of the self-help classic, The Power Of Positive Thinking."

Image Source: www.factinate.com

19Pablo Escobar’s earnings

Pablo Escobar’s earnings were so big that it was difficult to preserve. It is believed that about 10 percent of earnings were wasted due to spoilage. It is said that rats consumed those bills.

Image Source: crimeviral.com

20Escobar’s big Columbian estate

After his death, Escobar’s big Columbian estate was metamorphosed into a theme park featuring animals, life-sized dinosaur models, his collection of classic cars.

Image Source: historygarage.com

21Pablo's fear

The drug lord had one fear and that was extradition. He did not want to spend his life in American jails no matter what.

Image Source: seecolombia.travel

22Pablo Escobar helped poor people

Despite being a notorious person for illicit dealings, Pablo Escobar helped poor people. He funded churches, hospitals. He also built food programs, parks and football stadiums.

Image Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

23Columbia’s Congress

Pablo Escobar became so influential with possession of extraordinary wealth that he tried to get himself elected to Columbia’s Congress.

Image Source: www.fhm.com

24Cocaine shipment

The drug lord’s biggest single cocaine shipment made to the United States weighed a staggering 51,000 pounds.

Image Source: www.worldpolicy.org

25Pablo Escobar's death

Pablo Escobar was shot dead at the age of 44 years. There is another version of the stories as well. Some speculate that the wound was self-inflicted.

Image Source: www.hollywoodreporter.com

2625,000 people attended Escobar’s funeral

About 25,000 people attended Escobar’s funeral. It included people from poor background whom he had helped in the past. They all attended his burial in Medellin.     

Image Source: boredomtherapy.com