THE INCREDIBLE LIFE OF PABLO ESCOBAR

Pablo Escobar came from humble origins
Born December 1, 1949 in the city of Rionegro, Colombia. His father was a peasant farmer, his mother an elementary school teacher. Not exactly a life headstart.
He started small but dreamt big
As a teenager Pablo Escobar stole tombstones and sold them to smugglers for resale. He expressed determination to be a millionaire by 22. Ambition burned from a young age.

And kept busy
In the early Seventies Pablo Escobar worked as a thief and bodyguard. He also allegedly kidnapped and ransomed a Medellín executive for $100,000. Compared to his later earnings, this would be majorly small change.

He wasn't afraid to risk himself
In 1975, Pablo Escobar started building his cocaine empire.

Initially he would personally fly shipments between Colombia and Panama to smuggle into the United States. Later Escobar had a whole fleet of aeroplanes and helicopters, including a Learjet.

Rivals were killed
An early casualty was rival Medellín dealer Fabio Restrepo, most likely murdered by Escobar in 1975. The dead Restrepo's employees were informed that their new boss was Pablo Escobar. Nobody was given much choice in the matter.

Officials bribed
In 1976 Pablo Escobar was captured by Colombian authorities in possession of drugs. However he bribed the arresting officers and the case collapsed. This marked the beginning of a policy that endured throughout his reign: a paid cop turns a blind eye.

Police took silver or lead
Pablo Escobar's approach to authorities was known as "plata o plomo" (silver or lead). Those he couldn't bribe were killed. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of police officers were murdered on Escobar's orders simply for doing their job. Countless familes destroyed to help a rich man could grow even richer.

His product weighed a lot
Over the Eighties the demand for cocaine skyrocketed. At its peak, Pablo Escobar's Medellín cartel smuggled 15 tonnes of cocaine per day to the United States. That's approximately the weight of two African elephants.

Business was good
How much does 15 tonnes of cocaine daily get you? A lot. During this halcyon period, the cartel was making $60 million per day. And they say crime doesn't pay.
Rats ate $2 billion of Escobar's profits each year
Such vast quantities of cash brought its own problems.
Often storing his money in dirty, rundown warehouses, ten per cent of Escobar's yearly earnings were written off as spoilage due vermin and damp. That's $2 billion. $2 billion. He lost more each year than most people will ever own.

He spent $2,500 a month on rubber bands
The cartel used them to tie together stacks of cash.
There's always a good use for them.
His influence was insane
Pablo Escobar was responsible for 80 per cent of the cocaine smuggled into the United States. In the Eighties, four in five people snorting a line were snorting an Escobar line. He singled-handedly kept Wall Street trading.

He built his own paradise
Pablo Escobar owned 5,000 acres of land in the small Colombian town of Puerto Triunofo. The utopia was built as a holiday getaway and included a pool, a bullring and a zoo housing hippos, giraffes and elephants.

And his own jail
In 1991, Pablo Escobar agreed to surrender to the Columbian authorities. He was confined in a luxury prison, La Catedral, which he helped design. From La Catedral Escobar continued to run his operations, receive visitors, and enjoy a football pitch and barbecue pit. Columbian authorities were not allowed within 3 miles of the compound.

He smuggled cocaine in plane tires
A pilot could reportedly earn as much as $500,000 depending on the amount he stashed. Another trick was soaking jeans in liquid cocaine and exporting them legally to the US, then extracting the cocaine on arrival. Very smart, Pablo.

He once burned $2 million
When his family were hiding at a farm in the mountains surrounding Medellín, Escobar burned $2 million to save his daughter from the cold weather. Puts Dad buying you a new football into perspective.

He was responsible for more than 4,000 deaths
In total, Pablo Escobar is said to be responsible for approximately 4,000 deaths including a Colombian presidential candidate. But man, he was a great dad.

Yet a hero to many
Pablo Escobar was a hero to the poor of Medellín. He built many parks, hospitals, schools, churches, sports stadiums and frequently distributed money to the poor. He even provided housing to local communities to ensure nobody went homeless. To this day, many see Escobar as a Columbian Robin Hood.

He may have killed himself
Pablo Escobar was killed in a firefight with the Colombian police. The fatal bullet wound was right above his ear - the exact same place where Escobar told his brother he would shoot himself were he ever cornered. The truth will never be known.

He is survived by his wife and two children
After Pablo's death in December 1993, his widow, Maria Victoria Henao, son, Juan Pablo Escobar Henao, and daughter, Manuela Escobar Henao, fled the country in 1994, briefly staying in various countries as few governments accepted them. Eventually, Argentina granted them asylum and changed their identities for protection.