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Some of the wealthiest and most powerful people of all time are (or were) criminals in line with the much-quoted maxim “crime pays.” While drug smugglers and mobsters feature amongst the wealthiest criminals of all time, there are a multitude of fraudsters out there who have reaped undue rewards through a life of crime. We have drawn up this list of nine of the wealthiest criminal of all time. All are billionaires – very many more made millionaire status. In addition, several brothers have formed criminal teams and also share billions. The three Ochoa brothers, members of the infamous Medellin Cartel run by our #1 Pablo Escobar, were at one stage together worth $6 billion; and the two Rodriquez Orejuala brothers were reputedly worth $3 billion as a result of their drug deals.
#9 Al Capone – $1.3 billion
One of the most notorious gangsters of all time, Alphonso Gabriel (aka Al) Capone was worth only a fraction of what many of the other wealthiest criminals on our list are (or were) worth when they were still alive. But then he also lived in a previous century, having been born in New York in 1899. Initially a small-time gangster who worked as a bouncer in places where criminal activities took place – including brothels – he later became bodyguard for crime syndicate leader, Johnny Torrio who made a small fortune selling illegal liquor. When Torrio died, Al Capone took over the syndicate, a position he held for seven years until he was 33. A modern-day Robin Hood (just like our #1), he donated a substantial amount of money to the needy. Jailed for tax evasion in 1931, he died in 1947 of heart failure.
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