This Notorious Drug Lord Once Set Rs 14 Crore On Fire Because His Daughter Was Cold

Last Updated:June 02, 2025, 17:29 IST

Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was no ordinary criminal. Born in Rionegro, Colombia in 1949, he rose from petty crime to become the most powerful drug trafficker in the world

It was a desperate moment during a time when Pablo Escobar and his family were on the run, reportedly hiding in the cold mountains of Colombia. (Representational Image)

It is often said that a father will go to any length for his daughter’s happiness, but what if that meant setting a fortune ablaze? As extraordinary as it sounds, one of history’s most notorious figures did just that. Pablo Escobar, the Colombian drug lord whose name became synonymous with both unimaginable wealth and unthinkable violence, once burned cash worth over Rs 14 crore (roughly $2 million) simply to keep his daughter warm.

This astonishing act wasn’t a fable or an exaggerated urban legend – it was a desperate moment during a time when Escobar and his family were on the run, reportedly hiding in the cold mountains of Colombia. As the temperature dropped and his daughter Manuela shivered, Escobar gathered stacks of US dollars and fed them to a fire, sacrificing more money than most people will ever see, just to ensure her comfort. That single moment offers a surreal glimpse into the contradictions of a man both feared and oddly revered.

Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was no ordinary criminal. Born in Rionegro, Colombia in 1949, he rose from petty crime to become the most powerful drug trafficker the world had ever seen. By the mid-1980s, he effectively controlled the global cocaine market, commanding around 80% of the world’s supply. His Medellin Cartel was a multi-billion dollar empire, backed by a complex web of corruption, violence, and intimidation.

So vast was his fortune that in 1989, Forbes listed Escobar as the seventh richest man on Earth, with a net worth exceeding $25 billion. The logistics of managing such an illicit fortune were absurd: Escobar reportedly spent over $1,000 a week just on rubber bands to bundle cash, and stashed his money in warehouses, fields, and even walls. Yet even the mighty empire had its vulnerabilities – every year, rats chewed through an estimated $1 billion worth of stored currency.

Escobar’s extravagant gestures for his family weren’t just limited to burning money. He once attempted to negotiate amnesty with the Colombian government by offering to pay off the national debt. He also built entire neighbourhoods for the poor, earning him a Robin Hood-like reputation among Colombia’s underprivileged.

However, Escobar was known to have ordered thousands of killings including judges, police officers, politicians, and journalists. It’s estimated that over 15,000 people died as a result of his brutal methods, including countless civilians caught in the crossfire of his war against the state.

Escobar’s reign of terror came to a dramatic end on December 2, 1993, one day after his 44th birthday. Tracked down by Colombian security forces with the help of US intelligence, Escobar was cornered in Medellin. He died on a rooftop in a hail of gunfire. While official accounts say he was shot by the police, theories persist that he may have taken his own life – or, as whispered by some insiders, been betrayed and executed by his own brother to consolidate control of the cartel.

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News world This Notorious Drug Lord Once Set Rs 14 Crore On Fire Because His Daughter Was Cold