Khun Sa

Khun Sa was born in February 1934 in Loi Maw, Mongyai, British Burma. Because of his opium trade in the Golden Triangle, Sa was known as the Opium King. He was the head of both the Shan United Army and the Mong Tai Army. His name translates to "Prince Prosperous." Sa gathered a few hundred soldiers to create a tiny army. He was lawfully married and had eight children. He increased the size of his army and ceased working with the Burmese government. He seized control of a huge territory in the states of Wa and Shan.

Sa was detained by the Rangoon government in 1969 but was released in 1973. In 1976, he established an opium smuggling base in northern Thailand and dubbed his force the Shan United Army. In 1981, at the request of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, an effort was undertaken to kill Khun Sa. From 1974 through 1994, the Golden Triangle supplied 80 percent of New York's street heroin. In 1989, a New York court indicted him with attempting to import 1,000 tons of heroin. Sa was never arrested and lived in Rangoon for the rest of his life. His fortune is reported to be worth over USD 5 billion.

Net worth in 2007: $5.65 Billion