By The newspaper
01 Nov 2023, 22:08 PM EDT
For four consecutive years, Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán topped Forbes magazine’s list of the richest people in Mexico and the world.
Unlike other billionaires who earned their fortunes through legitimate means, ‘El Chapo’ amassed his wealth through his illicit drug trafficking activities, planned under the banner of the Sinaloa Cartel.
In 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, ‘El Chapo’ was on the prestigious Forbes list. His first appearance ranked him 701st in the world, but as time went by he dropped to 1,153rd place.
During this period, his estimated wealth rose to a staggering $1 billion, leading to a crucial question: What was ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s monthly income while he was running the Sinaloa Cartel?
The earnings of ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán
In mid-2012, The New York Times published a groundbreaking investigation titled “Cocaine Incorporated,” revealing the staggering revenues generated by the Pacific Cartel, also known as the Sinaloa Cartel, during those years.
While the U.S. Department of Justice claimed that Mexican and Colombian cartels raked in between $18 billion and $39 billion a year from drug sales, the New York Times’ findings suggested somewhat smaller profits. However, these profits could still be compared to those of large corporations like Netflix.
The investigation revealed that the Sinaloa Cartel, and consequently ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, amassed almost 3 billion dollars annually through narcotics trafficking alone. In other words, every month, the Sinaloa Cartel, under the leadership of ‘El Chapo’, raised an astonishing $250 million dollars.
If we break it down further, this equates to a staggering $62.5 million dollars per week. It is important to note that not all of these profits remained solely in the hands of ‘El Chapo’, since the cartel structure included other key figures such as Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, as mentioned by Infobae.
Seizure of illicit profits
In 2019, when ‘El Chapo’ was sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States, a magistrate ordered the seizure of the colossal $12.7 billion dollars derived from his criminal activities. Of this total, $11,674 million dollars were attributed to the transportation of 522 tons of cocaine to the United States.
However, even today, the whereabouts of ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s fortune remains a mystery. His lawyer, Mariel Colón, even described as “crazy” the idea that ‘El Chapo’ possesses such an astronomical sum of money. The question of where the drug trafficker’s enormous wealth lies continues to intrigue and perplex many.
Keep reading:
· Where is the fortune of El Chapo” Guzmán? One of the richest men in the world
· The United States will destroy evidence against Ovidio Guzmán after the trial ends
· Ovidio Guzmán López, son of “El Chapo”, pleads “not guilty” of drug trafficking