6 Unbelievable Facts About The Life Of Drug Lord Pablo Escobar

The internet is abuzz with fascination over Pablo Escobar thanks to the latest Netflix original series, Narcos. The show details the rise of the notorious Colombian drug lord, who ruled one of the most far-reaching drug trades in the world.

It’s been estimated that at the height of Escobar’s reign, he was smuggling 15 tonnes of cocaine a day, earning Escobar an estimated $420 million a week! In the 1980s, his Medellin cartel was responsible for 80 percent of the cocaine that was sent to the United States, earning him an estimated $30 billion dollars at its peak.

Escobar’s extravagant, 5,000 acre estate in Puerto Triunfo had a private zoo, filled with hippos, giraffes, elephants, and more. Hippos reportedly still walk the grounds to this day!

Escobar seemed to have thing for planes: he reportedly bought a Learjet for the sole purpose of flying his cash! He also used plane tires to smuggle drugs, with pilot earning up to $500,000 depending on the shipment!

It’s been estimated that Pablo Escobar was responsible for killing about 4,000 people, including an estimated 200 judges, 1,000 police workers, journalists and government officials.

Despite these horrific practices, Escobar also reportedly funded a number of programs to help Colombia’s poor. He donated money to churches and hospitals and established food programs and built parks and soccer stadiums. These charitable doings earned him the nickname ‘Robin Hood.’

His biggest fear was reportedly being extradited, with his only desire being that he never end up living his final years in a U.S. prison. And in an attempt to change extradition laws, he offered to pay off Colombia’s debt--estimated 10 billion dollars.