The legal way: capitalism
- Carlos Slim. $69B net worth. Wealth mainly from Mexican phone monopoly.
- Bill Gates. $61B. Microsoft.
- Warren Buffett. $44B. Berkshire Hathaway (investing).
- Bernard Arnault. $41B. LVMH, Louis Vuitton (luxury products).
Capitalism is not a bad way of making money.
Being a drug lord
Apparently the richest drug lord of all time would be Pablo Escobar, with different Internet sources putting his net worth at anywhere from $3 Billion USD to $50 Billion USD. But the problem with trying to make money as a drug lord is usually this: it’s very likely that you will die or end up in jail. Pablo Escobar was gunned down in 1993.
Being a dictator
- (dead) Sani Abacha, Nigeria’s former military ruler – $3B
- (dead) Mobutu Sese Seko, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo – $1B to $5B
- Ibrahim Babangida, ruled Nigeria from 1985 to 1993 – $12B
- Source: Who Were Africa’s Richest Dictators?
Some of these guys are pretty rich and worked hard to take control of a country. Unfortunately, many of these dictators are dead or in exile.
Conclusion
As you can see, it’s probably better to try to make money legally. You’ll make more money, won’t have to flee your country, and won’t have people trying to kill you. You don’t even have to do something unethical like running a casino, selling cigarettes, manufacturing weapons, or inventing Autotune.
