25 Richest Criminals of All Time

Published on November 13, 2023 at 3:55 pm by Jose Karlo Mari Tottoc in Lists, News

In this article, we will take a look at the 25 richest criminals of all time.

Engaging in criminal activities isn’t a great career choice. Several of history’s richest lawbreakers faced grim outcomes, ending up fugitives, incarcerated, or meeting tragic fates. However, the severe consequences didn’t stop the ultra-wealthy criminals on our list, regardless of their transgressions, ranging from embezzlement, drug trafficking, Ponzi schemes, prostitution, or even homicide. The appeal of financial gains for these people proved irresistible. Many of the rich criminals in our list amassed wealth through drug trafficking, some directed their illegal actions toward gambling and extortion, while others adopted a strictly white-collar approach.

Another example of what could be an illegal “white-collar approach” is the case of MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (NYSE:MSM), the world’s largest ocean carrier. The company is facing a legal dispute with the US government over drug smuggling cases that occurred over three years ago. The US government is seeking $700 million in fines and could proceed with a case to take back the container ship MSC Gayane, which was built in 2018. The largest amount of cocaine ever found in the US was found in containers on the MSC Gayane in June 2019. U.S. prosecutors claim that Goran Gogic, a Montenegrin who was arrested in Florida in October and is now in custody in New York, planned how the cocaine from South America to Europe would get to Europe by communicating between crew members involved in smuggling and drug cartels in the Balkans.

MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has spent over $100 million from 2019 to 2020 on better measures to stop people from smuggling and spent “far more than $50 million in 2022 on security efforts” and may also have to pay money because the U.S. government could fine them. There is an ongoing legal dispute between MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (NYSE:MSM) and the United States government, which has predominantly occurred away from public scrutiny. If the government finds that MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (NYSE:MSM) broke the consent order, the punishment could include losing the money that was on deposit with the government.

The US container line MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has been facing a significant threat from drug trafficking, with customs officials pushing the company to pay over $700 million in fines. MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (NYSE:MSM) has consistently acknowledged the presence of cocaine on one of its vessels but maintains that most of it was not and could not have been placed on the ship during its time at sea. The gangs involved in the $1 billion drug theft have a history of violence dating back to the 1990s. Between 2019 and 2024, MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (NYSE:MSM) plans to spend more than $100 million on security improvements after the Gayane drug bust.

MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (NYSE:MSM) is hopeful that the world economy will improve and trade demand will show signs of hope. However, a decline in demand across the board and significant supply chain issues have hurt the market. MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (NYSE:MSM)’s CEO, Soren Toft, believes that trade is slowing down due to high stocks in Europe and North America, but when stocks start to go down, freight sales will go up again.

MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (NYSE:MSM)’s relationship with Maersk as an ocean carrier will end in 2025, with the extra money being used to grow its land-based shipping and warehouses. By investing in ports, warehouses, and trucks, MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (NYSE:MSM) is having a bigger effect in the US, with more business being done in East Coast US ports by TIL, building new container sites in New Orleans and the Port of Baltimore.

The literature on the economics of crime and punishment is extensive. There must be both opportunity and motivation for a crime to occur, according to all theories of crime causation. Clearly, the desire for money is the driving force behind white-collar criminality. In addition, anthropological research reveals that money plays a significant role in the ritual systems of many cultures, and psychological research demonstrates that money also carries a significant emotional weight. In addition, a highly monetarized economy offers many more opportunities for illicit activity than other societies, and the use of money reduces the likelihood of punishment.

Our Methodology

In this context, criminals have existed and amassed wealth on every continent since the beginning of time. Today, we are enumerating the 25 richest criminals of all time who amassed their fortunes through violence and deceit. Naturally, determining the net worth of these criminals is largely subjective, given that they aren’t known for their meticulous accounting practices. Six related sources on the subject were found through a thorough literature search using databases. After that, the frequency with which each of the richest criminals of all time is mentioned in the article was taken into consideration. By comparing these frequencies, a ranking system was made based on how many times each of the richest criminals of all time was mentioned in the study. The net worth of each of the richest criminals of all time was also considered.

25 Richest Criminals of All Time

25. Ricky Donnell “Freeway Rick” Ross

Estimated Net Worth: $1 Million

Ricky Donnell, “Freeway Rick” Ross, one of the richest criminals of all time, is a prominent American author and former drug lord who successfully established a highly lucrative drug enterprise in Los Angeles during the early to mid-1980s. As a consequence of purchasing more than 100 kilograms of cocaine from a federal agent, he received a life imprisonment sentence in 1996 under the three-strikes law. Ross’s drug operation generated an estimated gross revenue exceeding $900 million, with profits reaching nearly $300 million ($1070 million in 2022). It is worth noting that Ross’s involvement in the cocaine trade originated from his inability to secure a college tennis scholarship due to his illiteracy. Over time, his distribution network expanded to encompass forty-two cities, leading to a significant reduction in the price of powder cocaine from $60,000 to $10,000. Additionally, Ross ventured into the realm of boxing management by establishing Team Freeway Boxing and co-authored a memoir detailing his experiences.

24. Lucky Luciano

Estimated Net Worth: $5 Million

Charles “Lucky” Luciano, a gangster of Italian descent, was the first American leader of the Genovese criminal family. Salvatore Lucania was born in 1897 and joined the Five Points Gang, where he learned the trade of prostitution. He rose to prominence within Joe Masseria’s criminal organization and established a national crime syndicate. The United States government resisted Luciano’s 1931 proposal to establish a commission to regulate organized crime. In Arkansas, Luciano was apprehended and charged with 62 counts of forced prostitution. During World War II, he was deported to Italy for alleged wartime cooperation. Luciano passed away in Italy in 1962, and his legacy is described as the “criminal mastermind” among the top twenty most influential architects and titans of the 20th century. Luciano is one of the richest criminals of all time.

23. Bernard Madoff

Estimated Net Worth: $17 Million

Bernie Madoff, an American fraudster and financier, was the mastermind behind the $64.8 billion Ponzi scheme with the largest known value in history. He is considered one of the richest criminals of all time. He established the stock brokerage and asset management firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. Mark and Andrew Madoff disclosed to their father that their firm’s asset management division was an enormous Ponzi scheme. In 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to eleven federal felonies and admitted that he had transformed his wealth management firm into a massive Ponzi scheme. Beginning in the early 1990s, the fraud targeted affluent Jewish communities in the United States. The total amount owed to clients was $57 billion, with customers investing $17.3 billion. In November 2017, the U.S. government announced it would begin distributing $772,500,000 from the Madoff Victim Fund to more than 24,000 Ponzi scheme victims.

22. Nicky Barnes

Estimated Net Worth: $50 Million

Born in 1933, Leroy Nicholas Barnes was the leader of The Council, a seven-member African-American organized criminal syndicate in New York City. In 1977, he was arrested for controlling a major portion of the heroin traffic. Barnes was sentenced to life in prison and became a federal informant, causing the dissolution of the Council. His memoir, Mr. Untouchable: My Crimes and Punishments, was published in 2007 after his release in 1998. In 2012, Barnes passed away from cancer, but his passing was not reported under his birth name. Leroy is one of the richest criminals of all time.

21. Viktor Bout

Estimated Net Worth: $50 Million

Russian arms dealer and former Soviet military translator Viktor Anatolyevich Bout was detained in Thailand in 2008 on terrorism charges. Bout is one of the richest criminals of all time. In 2011, he was found guilty of conspiracy to murder American citizens and government officials, delivery of anti-aircraft missiles, and aiding a terrorist organization. Involved in the arms trade between the United States and Russia, Bout obtained his arms from KAS Engineering Consortium, Ltd. His activities were primarily focused on his personal history and black-market dealings. He is accused of bribing the United States with cash, weapons, aircraft, and other assets to sustain deadly conflicts. Samar Airlines, purportedly a commercial airline and passenger and cargo aircraft charter service based in Tajikistan, was registered by Bout and his associates. In the United States, Bout is accused of trading secrets and founding new aviation and other companies under the names of other individuals.

20. Frank Lucas

Estimated Net Worth: $52 Million

Frank Lucas is one of the top 20 richest criminals in the world. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, drug kingpin Frank Lucas was a notorious figure in the United States. Using a direct connection from Southeast Asia, he broke the Mafia’s monopoly in New York and smuggled drugs into the United States. His estimated net worth was $52 million, the majority of which was in Cayman Islands institutions, and he stood to earn $300,000 per kilogram. American Gangster (2007), a crime film produced by Universal Pictures, dramatized his life, but his actual life was criticized for being fictionalized. Julianna Farrait, the wife of Lucas, served five years in prison for assisting him in his drug importation business. The film’s depiction of the drug kingpin as a ‘ghost’ and a criminal has been criticized for its portrayal of the drug lord as a ‘ghost’. Lucas is one of the richest criminals of all time.

19. George Jung

Estimated Net Worth: $100 Million

George Jacob Jung, also known as Boston George and El Americano, is one of the richest criminals of all time. He was an American drug courier and trafficker who played a major role in the cocaine trade in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. Jung and his associate Carlos Lehder smuggled cocaine into the United States for the Medellin Cartel. Jung was convicted of conspiracy in 1994 and sentenced to sixty years in prison; he was released in 2014. Johnny Depp portrayed him in the 2001 biopic Blow. In 1974, Jung was apprehended in Chicago for smuggling 660 pounds of marijuana. After testifying against his ex-partner, Carlos Lehder, his sentence was reduced to approximately 20 years. Before his early 2014 parole, Jung was incarcerated at a number of institutions. Jung collaborated with T. Rafael Cimino on the 2014 novel Heavy, a fictional account of Jung’s escape from a Cuban prison and flight to Guatemala. Jung passed away on May 5, 2021, at his residence in Weymouth, Massachusetts.

18. José Figueroa Agosto

Estimated Net Worth: $100 Million

Jose Figueroa Agosto, also known as “Junior Capsula” and “the Pablo Escobar of the Caribbean,” is one of the richest criminals of all time. He was a notorious Puerto Rican drug trafficker who controlled 90% of the cocaine on the island. At the time, he was the most sought-after fugitive in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. In Puerto Rico, he was serving a 209-year prison sentence in 2009. In 2017, authorities believed that with the Caribbean’s largest reputed drug kingpin back behind bars, law enforcement agencies in the region should be on the lookout for potential bloody feuds between rivals and lieutenants vying for his position. The capture of Figueroa Agosto in the capital of Puerto Rico after a decade-long manhunt was a major victory, but it also meant that members of his violent gang would attempt to seize control of his portion of the illicit trade. In 2010, a sex video featuring Figueroa Agosto was a best-seller for porn DVD vendors in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

17. Al Capone

Estimated Net Worth: $100 Million

Alphonse Gabriel Capone, also known as Scarface, is one of the richest criminals of all time. He was an American gangster and industrialist who rose to prominence as the co-founder and head of the Chicago Outfit during the Prohibition era. Capone, who was born in 1899, joined the Five Points Gang and worked as a security guard in organized crime establishments. He moved to Chicago and became a bodyguard for Johnny Torrio, the leader of an alcohol-supplying criminal organization. Capone grew his bootlegging business through violent means, but his mutually beneficial relationships with Mayor William Hale Thompson and the Chicago Police Department gave him the appearance of being secure from law enforcement. The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre, in which seven gang rivals were murdered, tarnished Chicago’s reputation and led to Capone’s conviction for tax evasion and eleven years in federal prison. Later, he was diagnosed with syphilis and gonorrhea in connection with the homicide of Julius Rosenheim. Frank Nitti, his underboss, took over as Outfit boss after his release. Following his release from prison, Capone was treated for syphilitic paresis and subsequently spent his final years in his Palm Island mansion. Following a stroke, bronchopneumonia, and cardiac arrest, he passed away in 1947. His remains are currently interred in Chicago’s Mount Olivet Cemetery.

16. Salvatore “Toto” Riina Nicky Barnes

Estimated Net Worth: $125 Million

In the early 1990s, Salvatore Riina, a notorious Italian gangster and head of the Sicilian Mafia, was at the height of his ruthless assassination campaign. He succeeded Luciano Leggio as leader of the Corleonesi criminal organization and attained dominance through the use of force. As part of the Maxi Trial of 1986, Riina was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia for Mafia association and multiple homicides. In 1993, after 23 years as a fugitive, he was apprehended, prompting a string of explosions at art galleries and churches. Riina’s faction became the dominant force in Sicily, controlling a significant number of votes and establishing ties with local political figures. In 1993, he was apprehended and sentenced to 26 life terms in solitary confinement. Riina’s medically-induced coma death in 2017 had a lasting impact on Italy’s struggle against organized crime. Barnes is one of the richest criminals of all time.

15. Meyer Lansky

Estimated Net Worth: $300 Million

Meyer Lansky, born Maier Suchowljansky in 1902 and one of the richest criminals of all time, was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles “Lucky” Luciano, established the United States’ National Crime Syndicate. He possessed shares in casinos in Las Vegas, Cuba, the Bahamas, and London, and he wielded considerable sway over the Italian-American Mafia. Utilizing his technical knowledge and mob connections, Lansky established gambling enterprises in Florida, New Orleans, and Cuba. He was credited with manipulating incriminating images and employing blackmail to acquire influence. Characters such as Hyman Roth and Michael Corleone are based on his life and reflect Lansky’s influence in popular culture. In 1973, he died in exile and was interred in Miami Beach.

14. Kenneth Lay

Estimated Net Worth: $400 Million

Kenneth Lee Lay, founder and chief executive officer of Enron, was severely entangled in the Enron accounting scandal, which resulted in the largest bankruptcy ever. At trial, Lay was convicted of 10 counts of securities fraud after being indicted by a grand jury. He passed away from a coronary artery disease-related heart attack in July 2006. Lay was one of the highest-paid CEOs in the United States, receiving over $220 million in cash and stock from Enron between 1998 and 2001. He worked as a technical assistant for the Federal Power Commission and was the energy deputy undersecretary for the United States Department of the Interior until 1974. Lay was cordial with the Bush family and Republican politicians Gerald R. Ford, Dick Cheney, James A. Baker III, Bill Clinton, and Ann Richards. Due to abatement ab initio, a legal doctrine that asserts the death of a defendant during an appeal results in a vacated judgment, his conviction was overturned. Lay is one of the richest criminals of all time.

13. Dennis Kozlowski

Estimated Net Worth: $600 Million

The former CEO of Tyco International, Leo Dennis Kozlowski, was convicted of unauthorized compensation, art purchases, and investment banking fees in 2005. Kozlowski is one of the richest criminals of all time. Before transferring to the Lincoln Correctional Facility, Kozlowski served six years in prison. Under New York’s “faithless servant” doctrine, Tyco sued Kozlowski, contending that $500 million in compensation and benefits he received during his disloyalty were forfeited. Kozlowski acknowledged his guilt, stating that his actions were motivated solely by greed. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Kozlowski gained notoriety for his lavish lifestyle and the flourishing stock market. He was accused of financing his $30 million condominium in New York City, his several acres in Boca Raton, Florida, and his multimillion-dollar oceanfront estate on Nantucket.

12. Anthony Salerno

Estimated Net Worth: $600 Million

Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno, one of the richest criminals of all time, was an American gangster who served from 1981 to 1986 as the underboss and front boss of the Genovese criminal family in New York City. Salerno, who was born and reared in East Harlem, became involved in gambling, numbers, loansharking, and protection rackets for the Luciano family, subsequently known as the Genovese family. Following his release from prison, he replaced Frank Tieri as the Genovese’s front man. In 1985, Salerno was indicted on RICO allegations, found guilty, sentenced to 100 years in prison without parole, and fined $240,000. In 1986, Vincent “The Fish” Cafaro, Salerno’s right-hand man, turned informant and revealed that he was Gigante’s front man. Due to diabetes and possible prostate cancer, Salerno’s health declined, and he died in 1992.

11. Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán

Estimated Net Worth: $1 Billion

Joaqun Guzmán Loera, also known as “El Chapo” or “JGL,” was a former Mexican drug kingpin and Sinaloa Cartel leader. He is one of the richest criminals of all time. Guzmán, who was born in 1957, assisted Héctor Luis Palma Salazar in mapping drug trafficking routes through Sinaloa and into the United States. Between 2009 and 2013, he was one of the most powerful individuals in the world as a result of his leadership, which brought him enormous wealth and influence. Guzmán was apprehended in Guatemala in 1993 and sentenced to 20 years in Mexico for drug trafficking and murder. In 2001, he escaped from a federal maximum-security prison, and Mexico and the United States offered a combined $8.8 million reward for information leading to his capture. Guzmán’s narcotics empire has made him a multibillionaire.

10. Susumu Ishii

Estimated Net Worth: $1 Billion

Susumu Ishii is part of the top 10 richest criminals of all time. Susumu Ishii was the second kaicho of the Inagawa-kai yakuza organization in Japan. He was born in 1924. From 1978 to 1984, he was imprisoned for a gambling scheme and later became known as “The World’s Richest Gangster” or “The Gangster With the Golden Touch.” The two greatest Japanese investment firms, Nomura Securities and Nikko Securities, lent money to the Inagawa-kai under Ishii’s leadership, allowing them to manipulate the stock market. Ishii’s investment in Tokyu Corporation yielded a profit of nearly two billion dollars. Yuko Inagawa, the founder of the gang’s son, succeeded him as kumicho in September 1990. Ishii passed away at Keio University Hospital on September 3, 1991, at the age of 67. Ishii is one of the richest criminals of all time.

9. Griselda Blanco

Estimated Net Worth: $2 Billion

From the 1970s to the 2000s, Griselda Blanco Restrepo, one of the richest criminals of all time, also known as the Black Widow or Cocaine Godmother, was a prominent Colombian drug kingpin in Miami, Florida. She founded a cocaine enterprise in Queens, New York, after being born in Cartagena, Colombia. Indicted in 1975 on federal narcotics conspiracy charges, she participated in the Miami narcotics war. Blanco was given a 15-year federal court sentence and a 20-year penitentiary sentence. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 1998 and was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Blanco had four children, including her son, Michael Corleone Blanco, who is still being charged with trafficking in Miami.

8. Allen Stanford

Estimated Net Worth: $2.2 Billion

Former financier and convicted financial fraudster Robert Allen Stanford is serving a federal penitentiary term of 110 years. He possessed dual citizenship and was the former chairman of the defunct Stanford Financial Group of Companies. The SEC, FBI, Florida Office of Financial Regulation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority questioned Stanford Financial Group’s consistently above-average returns in 2009. Stanford and his accomplices operated a “massive Ponzi scheme” by misappropriating billions of dollars from investors and falsifying Stanford International Bank’s records. Federal district judge David Godbey sided with the SEC in its civil litigation against Stanford in 2013, ordering him to refund $6.7 billion ($5.9 billion in illegal profits and $861 million in interest) and pay a $5.9 billion fine. Stanford is one of the richest criminals of all time.

7. Carlos Lehder

Estimated Net Worth: $2.7 Billion

Former Colombian drug kingpin Carlos Enrique Lehder Rivas was the first major drug trafficker to be extradited to the United States. Born in Armenia, Colombia, Lehder was a founding member of the Muerte a Secuestradores paramilitary organization, and ran a cocaine transport empire on Norman’s Cay. He established the National Latin Movement in order to compel Colombia to renounce its extradition treaty with the United States. The credibility of Lehder’s unconventional method increased, leading to an increase in cocaine trafficking. The M-19 guerrilla movement kidnapped him in 1981, and in 1987, they extradited him to the United States for cocaine trafficking. Lehder was subsequently released and escorted to Germany due to a recurrence of prostate cancer. Lehder is one of the richest criminals of all time.

6. Leona Helmsley

Estimated Net Worth: $5 Billion

In 1989, an American businesswoman and one of the richest criminals of all time, Leona Roberts Helmsley, was convicted of federal income tax evasion and other offenses. She was initially sentenced to sixteen years, but only had to serve nineteen months in prison and two months of house detention. The billionaire Helmsley was notorious for disputing payments to contractors and vendors. She was found not guilty of extortion but given sixteen years in prison. Helmsley spent her later years in seclusion, living alone with her dog in a lavish condominium following her release from prison. She died at age 87 of congestive heart failure. In Manhattan in 2001, a judge convicted her of being wealthy and a victim in the 1980s, when she was a symbol of pride and avarice. Her fortune was donated to New York Presbyterian Hospital and the New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Center for Digestive Care.

5. Khun Sa

Estimated Net Worth: $5 Billion

Khun Sa, one of the richest criminals of all time, is a notorious ethnic Chinese drug lord and warlord. He was born in 1934 in Loi Maw, Mongyai, Northern Shan State, Burma. He claimed to fight for Shan State’s independence and establish his own territory. After being arrested in 1969, he became the dominant opium warlord in the Golden Triangle. In 1996, he surrendered to the Burmese government, allowing the government to protect him. Khun Sa was married to Nan Kyayon and had eight children, all educated abroad.

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4. Dawood Ibrahim

Estimated Net Worth: $6.7 Billion

The Indian government is seeking Dawood Ibrahim, a notorious Indian gangster and drug lord, for murder, extortion, targeted shooting, drug trafficking, and terrorism. In 2003, he was labeled a global terrorist, and he is currently on India’s “Most Wanted List.” He is associated with Bollywood film financing and producer extortion. He has ties to the Mumbai underworld and Bollywood actors. Pakistan denies his presence. Ibrahim is one of the richest criminals of all time.

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3. Semion Mogilevich

Estimated Net Worth: $10 Billion

Semion Yudkovich Mogilevich, one of the richest criminals of all time, is a Russian organized crime kingpin of Ukrainian descent and is believed to be in charge of a multibillion-dollar international criminal empire. He is charged with trafficking in weapons, contract killings, extortion, narcotics trafficking, and prostitution. Mogilevich has ties to government, military, and law enforcement officials, as well as Putin. He has been removed from the FBI’s ‘Most Wanted’ list after more than a decade of efforts to apprehend him.

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2. Amado Carrillo Fuentes

Estimated Net Worth: $25 Billion

Amado Carrillo Fuentes, one of the richest criminals of all time, is a Mexican drug lord who seized control of the Juárez Cartel after assassinating his boss, Rafael Aguilar Guajardo. He was known as “El Señor de Los Cielos” and was known for laundering money via Colombia. Born in Guamuchilito, Navolato, he worked with Pablo Escobar and the Cali Cartel, smuggling drugs from Colombia to Mexico and the US. He was murdered in 2006 and was a key figure in the Mexican drug war.

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1. Pablo Escobar

Estimated Net Worth: $30 Billion

Pablo Escobar, a Colombian drug kingpin, narcoterrorist, and politician, had an estimated net worth of $30 billion, making him the wealthiest criminal in history. He began his career by peddling illegal cigarettes and counterfeit lottery tickets. In 1976, he established the Medellin Cartel, which distributed cocaine powder and established clandestine routes from Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador to the United States. Medellín remained under the influence of Pablo Escobar until the mid-1990s when the city’s leaders were either murdered or captured by the Colombian government. In 2006, his remains were exhumed, and his estate, zoo, and citadel were donated to low-income families. Pablo Escobar is one of the richest criminals of all time.