The End of Escobar

December 2, 1993 - One of the world's most notorius bad guys died on this day. Pablo Escobar made an insane fortune in cocaine trafficking. At one point he was the 7th richest man in the world with an estimated 9 billion dollars. Legend claims that Escobar burned over $2 million in cash to keep warm while he was on the run.

Born in rural Colombia, Escobar started his criminal career in high school where he allegedly stole gravestones and sanded them down for resale. Soon he was selling fake lottery tickets and stealing cars. He eventually worked his way down to kidnapping. Ransom for a Medellin executive helped finance his entry into the drug trade.

He was a millionaire by age 22. There were times when he was moving 15 tons of cocaine in a day. With so much cash pouring in, Escobar literally had to store it in warehouses where the money was stacked like bricks. He had his own island and a fleet of submarines to help transport the contraband.

Despite his attempt to portray himself as a Robin Hood character, Escobar's ruthlessness and greed eventually caught up with him. A specially trained team of police commandos tracked him down to his hideout in a middle class barrio of Medellin.

When Escobar and his bodyguard realized they were surrounded they made a last ditch effort to escape across the rooftops. Both men were shot multiple times. The fatal shot for Escobar was in his ear, and some believe that he shot himself.