Biography

El Chapo’s Net Worth: Check Out His Peak Net Worth, Along With His Life Story And Wealth

As El Chapo’s net worth hit a peak in recent times, people have been searching for him all over the internet. With the full name of Joaquin El Chapo Guzmán, he is promptly known as the former drug kingpin with a net worth of billions of dollars. When it comes to drug traffickers, El Chapo is considered to be among the most powerful. He has more than $400 million in cash reserves in US currency, loaded up in various parts of Mexico. However, as he was arrested by the DEA, his whole empire has been inherited by his children, along with his enormous wealth.

Today, we are here to talk about El Chapo’s net worth, updated as of 2023. Without waiting any longer, let’s get started!

Full Name: Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán

Nick Name: El Chapo

Born: 4 April 1957

Place of Birth: La Tuna, Badiraguato Municipality, Sinaloa, Mexico

Age: 66 years (as of 2023)

Current Residence: United States

Nationality: American

Religion: Christian

Ethnicity: Mexican

Height: 5 ft 6 in (168 cm)

Weight: 66 kg (136 lbs)

Hair color: Black

Eyes: Dark Brown

Father: Emilio Guzmán Bustillos

Marital Status: Married

Spouse: Emma Coronel Aispuro

Profession: Drug Dealer

Net Worth: $3 billion

Table of Contents

El Chapo: Early Life

Originally known as Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, he was born on April 4, 1957, in La Tuna, Badiraguato Municipality, Sinaloa, Mexico. He was raised by his mother Maria and father Emilio who worked as a cattle rancher. El Chapo has seven siblings, among whom he is the oldest one. He also had three older brothers, who passed away when he was just a child. After this, he dropped out of school in 3rd grade, to help out his father, with whom he shared an abusive relationship because he used to beat El Chapo regularly.

Raised in a rural town, El Chapo started selling marijuana and opium poppy to make some extra cash. When he turned 15 years old, he started planting marijuana plants. But soon his father kicked him off, so he moved in with his grandfather.

He gained the nickname, “El Chapo,” as an adolescent because he was very short. In his twenties, El Chapo moved in with his uncle, Pedro Avilés Pérez, who was a drug trafficker.

El Chapo’s Net Worth

As of 2023, El Chapo’s net worth is estimated to be around $3 billion US dollars. Records state El Chapo’s net worth reached its highest peak in 2010, with $26 billion. His empire hit heights between 2005 and 2011, which also listed him among the Top-20 richest people on the planet. During this period, El Chapo owned more than 60 tonnes of drugs worth 15 billion dollars, stashed up to be shipped to the United States, from several warehouses in Sinaloa.

Also Read: Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán Fast Facts

How did El Chapo make money?

El Chapo started earning a good sum of money in the 1970s when he worked in transport and oversaw the drug shipments from the Sierra Madre to the border of the United States. Initially, he worked under the drug lord, Hector El Guero Palma. After that, in the 1980s, he started working for Felix Gallardo of the Guadalajara Cartel as his Chauffeur.

However, in 1989, El Chapo got arrested for killing a DEA agent because of the cartel split. He even made himself counted among the Sinaloa Cartel leaders. And being that, throughout his career of over 30 years, El Chapo has made above 13 billion handlings.

Through drug dealings, El Chapo earned more than $100 million on a daily cash basis. But it was such a big amount, so he had to purchase safe houses to store the money. After his arrest, more than $180 million in cash has been restored from his safe houses.

El Chapo’s Money Laundering

Since 2009, El Chapo has helped the Chinese players to move large sums of money swiftly and quietly. With El Chapo’s support, the Chinese money brokers were able to dominate the international money laundering market, based in Mexico.

El Chapo has exploited the banking system with the help of accountants all across Europe and the United States. And among many of El Chapo’s laundering money methods, the most famous one is of depositing amounts less than $10,000 to avoid the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

And El Chapo has one of the most effective ways to clean up large cash sums through a technique developed by El Chapo himself into an art form, known as “trade-based money laundering.” For this, he used to purchase easily sold items like electrons and clothes from legitimate companies in the United States and then sell those items on the other side of the border in pesos.

Why was El Chapo Arrested?

El Chapo’s cartel gunmen set trucks and cars burning at various intersections in the city, as the authorities reported around 19 roadblocks. In 2019, he was convicted of money laundering, weapon-related offenses, and drug trafficking. Currently, El Chapo is serving a life sentence in the Colorado prison with maximum security.

And even though, El Chapo has been arrested, Sinaloa Cartel remains one of the largest distributors of drugs across the world. They conduct by recognizing and then, manipulating cracks in the social system which makes global civilization a prospect.