Forbes magazine puts murderous cocaine dealer on list of billionaires.
 

I knew the wall street set had really become a bunch of crooks lately with the bank scandals, Madoff, etc. But putting a violent cocaine dealer on the list of billionaires is a bit much.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090313/...ug_billionaire

I'd love to know what Escobar would have been listed at during his heights.

I thought he was on the list at one point in time?

agreed...

all of the very rich throughout history have been coldblooded murderers :2 cents::2 cents:

i think its brilliant to put these men in forbes.....give them the recognition they deserve

if govt didn't overstep their bounds by controlling what humans ingested, this man would be a legitimate businessman like any other :thumbsup

I sale cheap woof

Maybe, maybe not. It's hard to say he'd be successful had it been legit without the enormous profits of being on top of an illegal drug empire that grows every day.

I fail to see how its too too different. The oil tycoons mostly grew up in families around the actual oil fields. Orange tycoons grew up in families around Orange groves with Orange plantation connections. I think its kinda the same thing :2 cents:

While what you speak is true, the only reason drugs such as coke, heroin, and pot have any value beyond a couple bucks an ounce is that our Government assigns a value to them and keeps the market in place. There never was any strong arm type agency that could keep prices for oil, oranges, or whatever inflated and supply in constant demand by regulating the market with such force.

Quick note: The oil business is full of gangsters and thugs. Orange groves are harvested by illegal aliens most of the time.

George Soros?

He was on the list twice. I read a book called Killing Pablo about the hunt for Escobar. At the height of his power he was sending 5 747's full of cocaine into the US every week. If I remember correctly he made the Forbes list twice.

At one point the Colombian government arrested him and he cut a deal. They let him build his own jail and hire all the people that worked in it. So he ran the place and lived like a king while serving his sentence and still ran his empire right from there.

cmon now , the list is just a list not a "good person" list.

Most really rich people are heavily invested in the death of others.

on a related note, did you know 2/3 of forbes russian billionaires are no longer on the list

and the list of billionaires dropped from like over a 1000 to just over 700

Illegals have nothing to do with it and the original fortunes made in the orange business was pre alien issues. As for oil being full of thugs - sure but in no way do they have the same muscle as the DEA in keeping prices and demand in check.

Wasnt it also some Indian guy who took the biggest hit in his wealth?

There is plenty of corruption in the citrus business, like any industry, http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/...US.19.241.html

coca inaaaaaaaaa

Tangent: It really pissed me off in 2001 when Time Magazine voted Rudy as Person of the Year instead of Bin Laden. They totally pussed out and did the PC thing.

The guy who was building that billion dollar mansion?

Lost $25 billion in plumping stocks, Warren Buffett has lost the same amount.

I wonder if I could have some money consulting them to sell early 2008.

:winkwink:

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh
:thumbsup

not surprising. Just like everything else. You kill 1 person you are a murderer, you kill 100K you are a conquerer, you kill'em all you're a god!!!!

You sell a dime bad you're a dope dealer. You sell billions in dope you're a businessman!!!

I agree with you Pro. :thumbsup

Agreed.

Open up a history book and take a good look at many of the 'tycoons' of the early U.S..

His skill sets might be very much geared towards illegal operations, whereas the skills necessary to intimidate and blackmail without openly breaking the law are necessary to become a tycoon in a legitimate business...also if it was legal he would have been crushed by a US mega-corporation long before now :winkwink:

his big problem is alcohol

looks like he was born with fetal alcohol syndrome to be honest, mom was probably alky

this is too much :helpme

god he looks bad