Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán

Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was the leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel, one of Mexico's most prominent criminal organizations in the late twentieth century.

Guzmán grew up in Badiraguato municipality, a poor and rural part of Sinaloa state in northern Mexico that gave home to numerous legendary drug traffickers. In the 1980s, he was a part of the Guadalajara drug cartel, which was led by Miguel ngel Félix Gallardo. Guzmán quickly advanced in the organization's ranks. He became a commander in the Sinaloa cartel when it disintegrated in the late 1980s. The Sinaloa cartel developed innovative smuggling tactics and plans under his leadership, including as creating air-conditioned tunnels beneath the Mexico-US border, concealing narcotics in chili pepper cans and fire extinguishers, and catapulting contraband across the border. His group manufactured and trafficked a variety of illegal narcotics, including marijuana, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine.

Net worth in 2017: $14 Billion