The Surprisingly Mundane Family Life Behind The World’s Biggest Drug Kingpin, Pablo Escobar

Published July 25, 2016
Updated August 20, 2021

These rare photos of Pablo Escobar's family, including his wife and children, provide a seldom seen glimpse at the man behind the myth.

There are many facts about Pablo Escobar that confirm his mythological status. At the height of his power, Escobar was making $40 million a week. He bought a Lear jet just to fly his money. And he once burned a barrel of 2 million dollars just to keep his daughter warm.

His public and private personas exist in stark contrast to one another. Escobar is rightfully regarded as a butcher who would do anything to attain and maintain power: it's estimated that his organization was responsible for at least 4,000 deaths during his reign as the head of the Medellin cartel.

In private, Escobar was a man who put his family first to the point that his affection for his family allowed the Colombian government to track and kill him. Today, we explore the family photos of a man who was both a devoted father and the most ruthless drug kingpin in history:

If you're fascinated by all things Pablo Escobar, check out this video taken by a Colombian journalist at La Catedral, the prison that housed -- and was built by -- Pablo Escobar in the early 1990s:


Enjoy this gallery of Pablo Escobar's family life behind the drugs and crime? Then check out our other posts on Pablo Escobar facts and the crazy Instagram pictures of drug cartels.

author
Alexander Baldwin
author
Alexander is a cofounder of All That's Interesting with an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia in History and Economics and an MSc from the School of Oriental and African Studies in Economics.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
Based in Brooklyn, New York, John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of expertise include modern American history and the ancient Near East. In an editing career spanning 17 years, he previously served as managing editor of Elmore Magazine in New York City for seven years.
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Baldwin, Alexander. "The Surprisingly Mundane Family Life Behind The World’s Biggest Drug Kingpin, Pablo Escobar." AllThatsInteresting.com, July 25, 2016, https://allthatsinteresting.com/pablo-escobar-rare-photos. Accessed August 25, 2025.