Not surprisingly, criminal activity can pay far more than any legal job. Although many countries are adopting important solutions to eliminate illegal activity, we live in an environment where it continues to grow. Many people enter the criminal community because it offers numerous advantages. Human trafficking, drug smuggling, arms trafficking, and various other businesses generate a lot of money for these people. Many of the most infamous criminals in history have made great fortunes, but are still in prison. There are people all over the world who have acquired enough wealth from the criminal world to create their own armies. As you can guess, in this list, we will talk about the 10 richest criminals in the world.
Below is the list of the world’s richest criminals of all time.
Top 10 Richest Criminals in the World
10. Frank Lucas
Frank Lucas was a United States drug dealer operating in Harlem in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Lucas was born in the United States on September 9, 1930. He was famous for avoiding middlemen in drug trafficking and buying drugs directly from their source in the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia. As portrayed in the feature film American Gangster, which chronicles elements of his life; Lucas boasted that he imported drugs using the coffins of the deceased US military.
In his lifetime, Lucas estimated that he had sold heroin worth a million dollars a day. And having a net worth of more than $ 52 million, plus a vast supply of liquid assets, including heroin. He passed away in New Jersey on May 30, 2019, at the age of 88.
9. Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel Capone, also known as Scarface, was an American gangster and businessman; Who rose to fame as the co-founder and boss of the Chicago gang during the Prohibition period. At the age of 33, his seven-year reign as a drug lord came to an end when he was sentenced to prison. Al Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York, in January 1899. Al Capone died on January 25, 1947, at the age of 47, after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest. At the time of his death, Al Capone’s net worth was around $ 100 million.
8. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr
Joseph Patrick Kennedy Sr. was a well-known businessman, investor, and legislator in the United States. Kennedy was born in East Boston, Massachusetts, with a political background. As a commodity and financial trader, he amassed great wealth, which he subsequently reinvested in real estate and in a variety of business sectors across the United States.
Joseph Kennedy is the one who made a fortune selling alcoholic beverages. By selling beverages in the forbidden areas of the country, he amassed a fortune of $ 400 million. Even though alcohol was prohibited at the time, he was able to earn a lot of money by putting a lot of work and resources.
7. Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán
Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera commonly known as El Chapo for his height of 5 feet. El Chapo is a Mexican drug trafficker and former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. The Sinaloa Cartel is actually an international criminal syndicate. El Chapo is widely considered the most powerful drug trafficker in the world. Guzmán was born and raised in Sinaloa, in a poor agricultural family. During his early adulthood, he became involved in the narcotics trade by helping his father possess marijuana for local traffickers.
In the late 1970s, Guzmán collaborated with Héctor Luis Palma Salazar, one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the country. He helped Salazar map cocaine trafficking routes through Sinaloa and into the United States. In the mid-1980s, he oversaw the logistics of Miguel Angel Félix Gallardo, one of the most powerful drug lords in the country. But after Gallardo’s capture in 1988, Guzmán formed his own Cartel de el. He used to produce cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. Guzmán had a net worth of $ 1 billion.
6. Griselda Blanco
Griselda Blanco Restrepo, one more woman among the richest criminals. Better known as “The Black Widow” throughout the world. Well, I don’t mean Scarlett Johansson. Joking aside, she was a Colombian drug lord for the Medellin Cartel and a leader in the drug trade and cocaine crime in Miami in the early 2000s. She was responsible for nearly 2,000 murders, during drug smuggling. from Colombia to New York, Miami, and California.
On September 3, 2012, she was shot and killed at the age of 69. Blanco was one of the richest and most dangerous women in the world, as well as the most successful drug trafficker in the world. She is the world’s first female billionaire convict, who runs her multimillion-dollar cocaine smuggling company with an iron fist and becomes one of the most dangerous people in history. She has an estimated net worth of $ 2 billion.
5. Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar is a king of the Indian underworld and drug lord who has eluded capture. He was born on December 26, 1955, in Dongri, India. Dawood Ibrahim Directs Calls From Indian Organized Crime Syndicate; The D-Company, which was founded in Mumbai in the 1970s. Dawood is wanted for terrorism, murder, extortion, deliberate murder, narcotics trafficking, and a host of other crimes.
In 2003, India and the United States named him a world terrorist. He also put a $ 25 million bounty on his head for his alleged involvement in the 1993 Mumbai attacks. The FBI and Forbes named him number three on their list of “The World’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives” in 2011. Ibrahim controls 75% of the heroin trade in the world. However, he is involved in several other businesses, which include; Diamonds, gold, and real estate. With an estimated net worth of $ 6.7 billion, he also ranks among the richest criminals in the world.
4. Leona Helmsley
Leona Mindy Roberts Helmsley was a convicted criminal and successful American businesswoman. Her flamboyant attitude and her notoriety for her tyranny gave her the title “Queen of Evil.” Helmsley was convicted on August 30 of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States; Three counts of tax evasion; Three counts of filing fraudulent personal tax returns; Sixteen counts of assisting with the filing of false corporate and partnership tax returns, and ten counts of mail theft. Leona Helmsley will forever be known for making one of the most disrespectful comments she has ever made. “We don’t pay taxes, only little people pay taxes.” She had a net worth of $ 8 billion.
3. Semion Mogilevich
Semion is a Russian organized crime boss. He soon established a well-organized criminal enterprise in the style of a typical American mobster family. He is well known as the “boss of bosses” of most of the Russian mafia unions in the world by the agencies of the European Union and the United States. He is also considered the “most dangerous mobster in the world” by the FBI. The FBI has charged him with arms trafficking, contract killings, kidnapping, drug smuggling, and prostitution on a global scale. With an estimated net worth of $ 10 billion, he ranks third among the richest criminals. Semion currently lives in freedom in Moscow and has three children.
2. Amado Carrillo Fuentes
Amado Carrillo Fuentes was a Mexican drug trafficker. He took over the Juárez Cartel after his boss Rafael Aguilar Guajardo was assassinated. Fuentes also known as “The Lord of the Skies.” What the Lord of Heaven means. Now you might ask why it’s called that, right? Because he used to transport drugs through the large fleet of airplanes. He was also famous for using Colombia to launder money in order to finance this fleet.
His fortune as a member of the Mexican Cartel is about 25,000 million dollars. He is the second among the richest criminals of all time. He was very well known at this time and seems to be known with any post about illegal activity. Surprisingly, he underwent plastic surgery, so the police will not be able to pursue him at any time. His bodyguards, on the other hand, murdered him while changing his face.
1. Pablo Escober
Probably the best-known drug trafficker of the current century is Pablo Escobar. Pablo Escobar is unrivaled in his profession. The “King of Cocaine” amassed a fortune that made him the richest criminal in history. And he is also one of the richest people on the planet. For several years, he had a near-monopoly on the drug trade in the United States. His empire is unrivaled in literature, and when read aloud, it almost seems made up.
Each month, his organization brought 70 to 80 tons of cocaine into the United States. They represent 80 percent of the country’s sum, as well as hundreds of tons in countries in all regions except Antarctica. As a result of this, he earned $ 420 million a week. Pablo’s wealth gave him a lot of influence. So that he could bribe politicians or have them assassinated if they refused to take his bribes. Escobar ranked the seventh richest man in the world by Forbes magazine, with a net worth of $ 30 billion. Following his escape from a Colombian prison in 1993, Escobar was executed by Colombian forces with the help of the United States.
Conclusion.
No one would say that crime can bring a convict a lot of wealth, but the consequences are very devastating. Most of the criminals listed above are still serving their prison terms. Although some have already died. Since the crime industry is worth billions of dollars, it attracts large numbers of people from all over the planet. There are a variety of explanations that people want to work in the criminal justice system. Lack of education, homelessness, social pressure, and the desire to be rich are some of the most prominent factors. Only education has the ability to change people’s minds, which is why it is so essential. Criminals amass huge amounts of money, but the end result is death or imprisonment.
DISCLAIMER: Please make sure I have no intention of pushing you through the world of crime. This “World’s Richest Criminals” list is for entertainment purposes only.
