5 things you didn’t know about Pablo Escobar

One of the most notorious criminals ever.

Season 2 of the Netflix Original Series Narcos, is available exclusively on Netflix right now, and we're all gripped with the rise and fall of Colombia drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.

You've definitely heard about Escobar but there's so much more to the man, so here are five things you didn't know about Pablo Escobar.

1. Rats ate billions of dollars belonging to Escobar

At the peak of their powers, the Medellín Cartel were reportedly raking in around $20 billion ever year with Pablo Escobar's personal wealth reaching $30 billion.

The fact that selling drugs is a cash-only business, he had a lot of trouble hiding it all safely.

That was highlighted by his brother Roberto Escobar who said Pablo would write off 10% of the money because rats would eat it in storage or else it would be damaged by water or lost.

2. He's rumoured to have heavily invested of one of the biggest football teams in South America

Escobar is believed to have pumped huge sums of money into his local club Atlético Nacional during the late 80s / early 90s.

Players like Faustino Asprilla, Juan Pablo Angel, Ivan Cordoba, Andres Escobar and Rene Higuita, who pulled off that Scorpion Kick against England, played with the club at the time.

3. Hippos he imported from Africa 30 years ago are still roaming free

When Pablo started making mega bucks, he decided to build a zoo on his land, as you do, and he wanted to fill it with exotic animals so he imported a few hippopotamus from Africa.

When everything fell apart and his property was seized, the animals in the zoo were shared around zoos in Colombia, except for the hippos.

They've been multiplying at a fast rate and it's thought there are now over 70 roaming the marshy grounds where Escobar used to live.

4. His private property in the Colombia jungle was pretty swish

Escobar built a luxurious 20 km2 estate for his family and friends and he went a bit wild with the facilities on the property.

The place had two helicopter landing pads, over 1,500 employees, ten houses, three zoos, full-size football pitches, 27 artificial lakes, life-sized dinosaur statues (plural) and a petrol station.

Those details were revealed in his son's book Pablo Escobar My Father. This clip explains how he afforded all of it.

5. The rubber bands myth

With a lot of money comes a lot of rubber bands, according to Pablo's brother Roberto.

He confirmed the myth that Escobar and his cronies spent $2,500 every month on rubber bands just to hold all of their drug money together.

The amount we've spent on rubber bands to keep our legally-earned money together - $0.

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