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Mexican drug lord on Forbes list of richest, with $1 billion

March 12, 2009 | 10:41 am

Reuters reports that Mexico's most wanted man, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, who is blamed for thousands of deaths in the country's continuing drug war, has made it onto the Forbes magazine list of the world's richest people, with an estimated $1-billion fortune.

Forbes placed Guzman at 701 on its list, tied with dozens of others worldwide with riches of about $1 billion.

Our Tracy Wilkinson reported last year:

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Mexico's most-wanted drug-trafficking fugitive, chalks up more sightings than Elvis. He is everywhere, and nowhere, a long-sought criminal always a step ahead of the law, yet always in sight or mind.

A mythology has developed around Guzman, the commander of Mexico's most powerful narcotics network, the so-called Sinaloa cartel, named for the Pacific coast state that is the historic cradle of Mexican drug trafficking. Narcocorridos, popular songs about traffickers, lionize him.

Go here for the full Forbes rich list and here for our complete coverage of the drug wars in Mexico.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City


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Makes you wonder how they can actually measure his wealth, since there are no stocks and shares, just property and cash. Bet he wish he put his money into Euros though.....

He shouldn't have been listed in forbes, how did they know about his money? It is strange.



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