Whoever said that crime doesn’t pay didn’t think about these wealthy criminals. While you may not wish to turn to a life filled with crime, you can stand back and appreciate those who felt they were above the law and accumulated ridiculous amounts of money.
Normal people like us get pulled over for running stop signs, but these people pulled out all of the stops in getting all of those zeroes in their bank accounts. For those seeking a path in the nefarious underworld of criminal activity, selling weapons and drugs has become a way of life.
The criminal element lends itself to being threatened with death or arrest at every turn, but apparently they felt the reward was worth the risks. Of all of the criminal minds to exist in this messed up world, these select few were among the wealthiest. You may recognize some of the names on this list, but make no mistake, these rich criminals were dangerous and committed many crimes to get to the top of the heap.
20. Frank Lucas – $52 million
At the age of 85, Frank Lucas is listed as a retired drug trafficker. His rise to notoriety began when he decided to break the monopoly that the Italian mafia had over the New York drug scene. He traveled to Thailand and was rumored to use replicas of the coffins belonging to dead soldiers in order to traffic narcotics from Bangkok to New York. While he earned $52 million for his criminal enterprise, he was sentenced to a total of twelve years in the slammer.
A movie called “American Gangster” was made about his life and it starred Denzel Washington, but was later criticized for its roots in reality.
