How much money the real Griselda Blanco that inspired Netflix series made as a drug lord

If you're a fan of Narcos or Queen of the South, then undoubtedly your next big watch has to be Griselda.

Based on the true story of Griselda Blanco, the Netflix series, starring Sofía Vergara, has been getting rave reviews.

It documents Blanco's journey from a woman struggling to financially support her family, to becoming a leading figure in transporting cocaine between Colombia and the US, particularly in cities like Miami and New York, throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

The drug lord, who worked for the Medellín cartel, is said to have used a unique combination of 'savagery and charm' that allowed her to go undetected for so many years while becoming the most powerful woman of all time within the drug trafficking trade.

Show creator Eric Newman told Netflix's Tudum: "There has never been a woman who came close to achieving the power, wealth, and respect that Griselda did. And no trafficker, woman or man, ever elicited the same level of fear."

After watching the six-part drama, many viewers have been left questioning just how much money the real-life Griselda made from her decades at the top of one of the most profitable cartels, prior to her death in 2012.

Netflix

According to CrimeMuseum.Org, Blanco was earning an eye-watering $80 million per month at the height of her power, with her net worth was believed to be an incredible $2 billion.

Blanco was said to be unique in her approach to the drug trafficking trade, having created many of the smuggling and murdering techniques which are still used today.

While she appeared charming to many, the ruthless leader is thought to have been involved in at least 250 murders in Colombia, while US authorities claim she's responsible for 40 in Miami.

Metro Dade Police Department

Her downfall began in 1985, when Drug Enforcement Agents arrested her and she was sent to prison for 15 years over federal drug chargers. Although she was due to face murder charges in Miami, a scandal between the prosecution and witness meant the drug lord was able to reach a deal.

She pleaded guilty to three murder charges in exchange for a reduced sentence, eventually being released and deported back to Colombia in 2004.

Blanco later died in 2012, when she was shot by two men on motorbikes. Although the killers were never caught, the reason for her murder is thought to link back to her previous life as a crime boss.