Age, Biography and Wiki
- Born: December 1, 1949, Rionegro, Colombia
- Died: December 2, 1993, Medellín, Colombia (age 44)
- Nationality: Colombian
- Brief Bio:
Pablo Escobar was the leader of the Medellín Cartel, which at its height controlled up to 80% of the global cocaine market and became the most powerful criminal organization of its time. His early years were marked by petty crime before he transitioned into large-scale drug trafficking. Escobar was notorious for his violent tactics, including the murder of politicians, police, and civilians. He was pursued by Colombian and U.S. authorities for years before being killed in a rooftop shootout in Medellín.
| Occupation | Law Enforcement Officer |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 1 December 1949 |
| Age | 75 Years |
| Birth Place | Rionegro, Colombia |
| Horoscope | Sagittarius |
| Country | Colombia |
| Date of death | 2 December, 1993 |
| Died Place | Medellín, Colombia |
Height, Weight & Measurements
- Height: Approximately 5’6” (1.68 m)
- Weight: Estimated around 70 kg (154 lbs)
- Physical Build: Average, stocky
Note: While several images and accounts describe Escobar as being of average height and build, precise official measurements are not documented.
At the height of his power, Escobar was involved in philanthropy in Colombia and paid handsomely for the staff of his cocaine lab. Escobar spent millions developing some of Medellín's poorest neighborhoods. He built housing complexes, parks, football stadiums, hospitals, schools, and churches. Escobar also entered politics in the 1980s and participated in and supported the formation of the Liberal Party of Colombia. In 1982, he successfully entered the Colombian Congress. Although only an alternate, he was automatically granted parliamentary immunity and the right to a diplomatic passport under Colombian law. At the same time, Escobar was gradually becoming a public figure, and because of his charitable work, he was known as "Robin Hood Paisa". He alleged once in an interview that his fortune came from a bicycle rental company he founded when he was 16 years old.
Escobar kept four hippos in a private menagerie at Hacienda Nápoles. They were deemed too difficult to seize and move after Escobar's death, and hence left on the untended estate. By 2007, the animals had multiplied to 16 and had taken to roaming the area for food in the nearby Magdalena River. In 2009, two adults and one calf escaped the herd and, after attacking humans and killing cattle, one of the adults (called "Pepe") was killed by hunters under authorization of the local authorities. As of early 2014, 40 hippos have been reported to exist in Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia Department, from the original four belonging to Escobar. As of 2016, without management, the population size is likely to more than double in the next decade.
| Height | 68 m |
| Weight | 154 lbs |
| Body Measurements | |
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| Hair Color |
Dating & Relationship Status
- Marital Status: Married to Maria Victoria Henao (Wedding: March 1976)
- Children: Two – Juan Pablo and Manuela
- Relationships:
Escobar’s wife and children survived his violent life and subsequent death. There are no credible public records of other romantic relationships.
He belonged to the Paisa ethnic subgroup. His family was of Spanish origin, specifically from the Basque Country, and also had Italian roots. He was the third of seven children and grew up in poverty, in the neighboring city of Medellín. His father was a small farmer and his mother was a teacher. Escobar left high school in 1966 just before his 17th birthday, before returning two years later with his cousin Gustavo Gaviria. At this time, the hard life on the streets of Medellín had polished them into gangster bullies in the eyes of teachers. The two dropped out of school after more than a year, but Escobar did not give up. Having forged a high school diploma, he studied briefly in college with the goal of becoming a criminal lawyer, a politician, and eventually the president but had to give up because of lack of money.
Escobar's widow (María Henao, now María Isabel Santos Caballero), son (Juan Pablo, now Sebastián Marroquín Santos) and daughter (Manuela) fled Colombia in 1995 after failing to find a country that would grant them asylum. Despite Escobar's numerous and continual infidelities, Maria remained supportive of her husband. Members of the Cali Cartel even replayed their recordings of her conversations with Pablo for their wives to demonstrate how a woman should behave. This attitude proved to be the reason the cartel did not kill her and her children after Pablo's death, although the group demanded and received millions of dollars in reparations for Escobar's war against them. Henao even successfully negotiated for her son's life by personally guaranteeing he would not seek revenge against the cartel or participate in the drug trade.
Argentinian filmmaker Nicolas Entel's documentary Sins of My Father (2009) chronicles Marroquín's efforts to seek forgiveness, on behalf of his father, from the sons of Rodrigo Lara, Colombia's justice minister who was assassinated in 1984, as well as from the sons of Luis Carlos Galán, the presidential candidate who was assassinated in 1989. The film was shown at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and premiered in the U.S. on HBO in October 2010. In 2014, Marroquín published Pablo Escobar, My Father under his birth name. The book provides a firsthand insight into details of his father's life and describes the fundamentally disintegrating effect of his death upon the family. Marroquín aimed to publish the book in hopes to resolve any inaccuracies regarding his father's excursions during the 1990s.
Escobar's sister, Luz Maria Escobar, made multiple gestures in attempts to make amends for the drug baron's crimes. These include making public statements in the press, leaving letters on the graves of his victims, and, on the 20th anniversary of his death, organizing a public memorial for his victims. Escobar's body was exhumed on 28 October 2006 at the request of some of his relatives in order to take a DNA sample to confirm the alleged paternity of an illegitimate child and remove all doubt about the identity of the body that had been buried next to his parents for 12 years. A video of the exhumation was broadcast by RCN, angering Marroquín, who accused his uncle, Roberto Escobar, and cousin, Nicolas Escobar, of being "merchants of death" by allowing the video to air.
On 22 February 2019, at 11:53 AM local time, Medellín authorities demolished the six-story Edificio Mónaco apartment complex in the El Poblado neighborhood where, according to retired Colombian general Rosso José Serrano, Escobar planned some of his most brazen attacks. The building was initially built for Escobar's wife but was gutted by a Cali Cartel car bomb in 1988 and had remained unoccupied ever since, becoming an attraction to foreign tourists seeking out Escobar's physical legacy. Mayor Federico Gutierrez had been pushing to raze the building and erect in its place a park honoring the thousands of cartel victims, including four presidential candidates and some 500 police officers. Colombian President Ivan Duque said the demolition "means that history is not going to be written in terms of the perpetrators, but by recognizing the victims", hoping the demolition would showcase that the city had evolved significantly and had more to offer than the legacy left by the cartels.
In March 1976, the 26-year-old Escobar married María Victoria Henao, who was 15. The relationship was discouraged by the Henao family, who considered Escobar socially inferior; the pair eloped. They had two children: Juan Pablo (now Sebastián Marroquín) and Manuela. In 2007, the journalist Virginia Vallejo published her memoir Amando a Pablo, odiando a Escobar (Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar), in which she describes her romantic relationship with Escobar and the links of her lover with several presidents, Caribbean dictators, and high-profile politicians. Her book inspired the movie Loving Pablo (2017). A drug distributor, Griselda Blanco, is also reported to have conducted a clandestine but passionate relationship with Escobar; several items in her diary link him with the nicknames "Coque de Mi Rey" (My Coke King) and "Polla Blanca" (White Cock).
Escobar was a Roman Catholic and was described by a priest, Father Elkin, as a profoundly devout man who was led astray by his ambitions. Escobar reportedly told Father Elkin "It's not important to be repentant, i am a believer." Escobar would even go to confession. He even claimed to have experienced a vision of Christ.
* Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022), American biopic parody loosely based on the life of "Weird Al" Yankovic; Arturo Castro portrays Escobar who is depicted as a Weird Al fan who kidnaps Weird Al's girlfriend, Madonna, to lure him to play at his fortieth birthday party. Weird Al instead murders him.
* One of ESPN's 30 for 30 series films, The Two Escobars (2010), by directors Jeff and Michael Zimbalist, looks back at Colombia's World Cup run in 1994 and the relationship between sports and the country's criminal gangs — notably the Medellín narcotics cartel run by Escobar. The other Escobar in the film title refers to former Colombian defender Andrés Escobar (no relation to Pablo), who was shot and killed one month after conceding an own goal that contributed to the elimination of the Colombian national team from the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
| Parents | |
| Husband | Maria Victoria Henao (m. 1976) |
| Sibling | |
| Children |
Net Worth & Salary
- Peak Net Worth: Estimates vary between $25 billion and $30 billion
- Annual Earnings: At his peak, Escobar and the Medellín Cartel reportedly earned up to $420 million per week, translating to nearly $22 billion annually
- Personal Wealth: Escobar was believed to personally receive about 40% of the cartel’s profits
- Forbes List: Listed on Forbes’ billionaire list (1987–1993), ranked as the 7th wealthiest person globally in 1989, with a fortune of at least $30 billion
- Current Status: After his death, much of Escobar’s fortune was lost, seized, or remains hidden in Colombia
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (1 December 1949 – 2 December 1993) was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and politician who was the founder and leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed the "King of Cocaine", Escobar was one of the wealthiest criminals in history, having amassed an estimated net worth of US$30 billion by his death—equivalent to ~$80 billion as of 2025—while his drug cartel monopolized the cocaine trade into the US in the 1980s and early 1990s.
After escaping first to Mozambique, then to Brazil, the family settled in Argentina. Living under her assumed name, Henao became a successful real estate entrepreneur until one of her business associates discovered her true identity, and Henao absconded with her earnings. Local media were alerted, and after being exposed as Escobar's widow, Henao was imprisoned for eighteen months while her finances were investigated. Ultimately, authorities were unable to link her funds to illegal activity, and she was released. According to her son, Henao fell in love with Escobar "because of his naughty smile [and] the way he looked at [her]. [He] was affectionate and sweet. A great lover. I fell in love with his desire to help people and his compassion for their hardship. We [would] drive to places where he dreamed of building schools for the poor. From [the] beginning, he was always a gentleman." María Victoria Henao de Escobar, with her new identity as María Isabel Santos Caballero, continues to live in Buenos Aires with her son and daughter. On 5 June 2018, the Argentine federal judge Nestor Barral accused her and her son, Sebastián Marroquín Santos, of money laundering with two Colombian drug traffickers. The judge ordered the seizing of assets for about $1m each.
After Escobar's death, the ranch, zoo and citadel at Hacienda Nápoles were given by the government to low-income families under a law called Extinción de Dominio (Domain Extinction). The property has been converted into a theme park surrounded by four luxury hotels overlooking the zoo.
Career, Business & Investments
- Medellín Cartel: Founded in the late 1970s, the cartel became the largest cocaine trafficking organization in history, controlling up to 80% of the world’s cocaine supply at its peak
- Cocaine Trafficking: At the height of operations, the cartel smuggled 15 tons of cocaine into the U.S. each day
- Other Business Ventures:
- Real Estate: Owned Hacienda Nápoles, a luxury estate featuring a zoo, bullfighting arena, dinosaur statues, and airstrips
- Legitimate Fronts: Invested in real estate, construction, and sports to launder money
- Challenges: Large sums of cash were lost annually due to spoilage, rats, and mismanagement—up to $2.1 billion per year
Escobar started his criminal career with his gang by stealing tombstones, sandblasting their inscriptions, and reselling them. After dropping out of school, Escobar began to join gangs to steal cars. Escobar soon became involved in violent crime, employing criminals to kidnap people who owed him money and demand ransoms, sometimes tearing up ransom notes even when Escobar had received the ransom. His most famous kidnapping victim was businessman Diego Echavarria, who was kidnapped and eventually killed in the summer of 1971, Escobar received a $50,000 ransom from the Echavarria family; his gang became well known for this kidnapping.
Soon, the demand for cocaine greatly increased in the United States, which led to Escobar organizing more smuggling shipments, routes, and distribution networks in South Florida, California, Puerto Rico, and other parts of the country. He and cartel co-founder Carlos Lehder worked together to develop a new trans-shipment point in the Bahamas, an island called Norman's Cay about 220 mi southeast of the Florida coast. Escobar and Robert Vesco purchased most of the land on the island, which included a 1 km airstrip, a harbor, a hotel, houses, boats, and aircraft, and they built a refrigerated warehouse to store the cocaine. According to his brother, Escobar did not purchase Norman's Cay; it was instead a sole venture of Lehder's. From 1978 to 1982, this was used as a central smuggling route for the Medellín Cartel. With the enormous profits generated by this route, Escobar was soon able to purchase 7.7 sqmi of land in Antioquia for several million dollars, on which he built the Hacienda Nápoles. The luxury house he created contained a zoo, a lake, a sculpture garden, a private bullring, and other amenities for his family and the cartel.
The National Geographic Channel produced a documentary about them titled Cocaine Hippos. A report published in a Yale student magazine noted that local environmentalists are campaigning to protect the animals, although there is no clear plan for what will happen to them. In 2018, National Geographic published another article on the hippos which found disagreement among environmentalists on whether they were having a positive or negative impact but that conservationists and locals – particularly those in the tourism industry – were mostly in support of their continued presence. By October 2021, the Colombian government had started a program of chemically sterilizing the animals.
Social Network
- Social Media Presence: N/A
Escobar died long before the advent of mainstream social media. There are no official accounts or verified social media profiles. - Public Image:
Escobar remains a polarizing figure, with some glorifying his Robin Hood-like local philanthropy and others condemning his brutal reign.
Escobar's legacy remains controversial; while many denounce the heinous nature of his crimes, he was seen as a "Robin Hood-like" figure for many in Colombia, as he provided amenities to the poor. His killing was mourned and his funeral attended by over 25,000 people. Additionally, his private estate, Hacienda Nápoles, has been transformed into a theme park. His life has also served as inspiration for or has been dramatized widely in film, television, and in music.
On 18 July 2006, Vallejo was taken to the United States on a special flight of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for "safety and security reasons" due to her cooperation in high-profile criminal cases. On 24 July, a video in which Vallejo had accused Santofimio of instigating Escobar to eliminate presidential candidate Galán was aired by RCN Television of Colombia. The video was seen by 14 million people, and was instrumental for the reopened case of Galán's assassination. On 31 August 2011 Santofimio was sentenced to 24 years in prison for his role in the crime.
* Pablo Escobar: Beyond Narcos (2016), by Shaun Attwood, tells the story of Escobar and the Medellín Cartel in the context of the failed War on Drugs; ISBN 978-1537296302
* American Made: Who Killed Barry Seal? Pablo Escobar or George HW Bush (2016), by Shaun Attwood, tells Pablo's story as a suspect in the murder of CIA pilot Barry Seal; ISBN 978-1537637198
* A Netflix original television series depicting the story of Escobar, titled Narcos, was released on 28 August 2015, starring Brazilian actor Wagner Moura as Pablo. Season two premiered on the streaming service on 2 September 2016.
Education
- Formal Education: Limited
Escobar attended the Universidad de Antioquia for a short time but did not graduate. - Self-Education:
Much of his knowledge and skills were self-taught or learned through criminal enterprises.
Escobar faced threats from the Colombian police, the U.S. government and his rivals, the Cali Cartel. On 2 December 1993, Escobar was found in a house in a middle-class residential area of Medellín by Colombian special forces, using technology provided by the United States which allowed them to trace Escobar's location after he made a call to his family. Police tried to arrest Escobar but the situation quickly escalated to an exchange of gunfire. Escobar was shot and killed while trying to escape from the roof, along with a bodyguard who was also shot. He was hit by bullets in the torso and feet, and a bullet which struck him in the head, killing him. This sparked debate about whether he killed himself or whether he was shot and killed.
