Griselda's money: What was Griselda Blanco's net worth and what happened to her money?

Netflix's Griselda has shocked and delighted viewers who want to know everything about the real life Colombian drug lord.

The new Netflix series, Griselda has delighted viewers who have been transfixed by Sofia Vergara's transformation into Griselda and want to know more about what happened to Griselda Blanco's three husbands in real life and where are Griselda Blanco's children now?

Another major question viewers are asking is about Griselda's money. The series highlighted that Griselda Blanco was a multi billionaire when she was arrested by the police and still lived for many years out of the public eye once she was released. But what happened to all of her money, did she die poor or was she wealthy for the rest of her life? Here's what you need to know...

What was Griselda Blanco's net worth?

Business Insider revealed that Griselda Blanco was one of the top ten wealthiest drug dealers of all time, and the only woman to make it to the top ten. At the height of her drug empire, Griselda was worth $2 billion. Making her wealthier than Al Capone who was worth $1.3 billion but significantly less rich than Pablo Escobar who was worth $30 billion at the height of his career. 

When she died in 2012 it was estimated that her real estate portfolio was worth around $500 million. 

A police officer spoke to El Pais about Griselda's wealth following her incarceration and explained that while she was not the billionaire she once was, she was by no means poor. "Poor? Listen to this: you and I are poor," the police officer said. "She went around driving her mazdita [a black Mazda 6] and collecting the money from the leases on the properties she still owned. She was also selling a building for 1,500 million pesos."

It was also reported that her coffin was placed in a casket decorated in golden Arabesque designs and she was buried in the Jardines de Montesacro cemetery, the same resting place as fellow billionaire and drug lord, Pablo Escobar.

What happened to Griselda's money?

When Griselda was arrested in 1985, and it is thought that a large portion of her money was seized by the Drug Enforcement Agency's CENTAC (Central Tactical Program). 

Per Celebrity Net Worth, This included the seizure of four of her properties which were worth 2 billion pesos ($118.7 million). She owned many more properties which were not seized, inlcuding once lavish property worth 550 million pesos ($32.6 million).

"She has tons of money squirrelled away in different bank accounts that were never recovered," DEA agent Robert Palombo, who arrested Griselda told Maxim. He added that at the time no one was even looking for her as she had been locked away for a long time and keeping a low profile ever since her release. "No one is going out of their way to look for her, because 20 years have passed since she last made any real enemies," he said at the time.