# Who’s the richest person to ever do time for a felony? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [May 31, 2024, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308 "2024-05-31T00:58:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/1 "2024-05-31T00:58:33Z")
Apropos of today’s news… I’m sure it’s hard to pin down someone’s real worth, but let’s try our hardest. It’s often been said that Trump is too rich to do time, but is he? Have wealthier people gone to prison? ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/2 "2024-05-31T01:05:14Z")
Bernie Madoff? Not sure if he still had money. 150 years in prison. The weasel only did 11. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/3 "2024-05-31T01:13:23Z")
Ken Lay was sentenced to prison but died before serving any time. But he was probably only ever worth a few hundred million bucks. Madoff ended up severely negative due to all of the legal liability around his fraud. Jordan Belfort was also probably more like Ken Lay - in the $100m range. I’m not sure of any actual billionaires that have been imprisoned in the modern era. Oh, Sam Bankman-Fried will certainly be up on the list. He was worth \>$20B at one point, but is now worth nothing… That’s the thing - most folks that wealthy that are imprisoned end up losing their fortune in the process. You can find a few more here, including at least one or two that are still billionaires. > **[Billionaires behind bars: The world's richest who've served time](https://www.forbes.com.au/news/billionaires/billionaires-behind-bars/)** > > How Sam Bankman-Fried’s possible 110 year sentence stacks up against other ex-billionaires and billionaires who’ve served time. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/4 "2024-05-31T01:22:54Z")
Martha Steward, where would she rank? ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/5 "2024-05-31T01:26:03Z")
If you include the ill-gotten gains that put someone behind bars, then I expect Pablo Escobar would be high on the league table. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/6 "2024-05-31T01:27:51Z")
Funny that you mention him, because he was on my mind when I posted the question. There are also probably a few dictators who might be on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/7 "2024-05-31T02:20:24Z")
[Pablo Escobar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Escobar)? He served some time in a kangaroo prison in 1991 in Columbia in exchange for his promise to stop engaging in criminal activity, which he immediately ignored. When the government planned to move him to an actual prison in 1992, he was long gone before they got there. And unlike those already mentioned apart from him, since it was a kangaroo prison where he had all the guards on his payroll, a private nightclub, visitors he wanted to see free to come and go as they pleased, etc. Escobar didn’t lose any of his wealth when convicted. > Dubbed “the king of cocaine”, Escobar was one of the wealthiest criminals in history, having amassed an estimated net worth of US$30 billion by the time of his death—equivalent to $70 billion as of 2022—while his [drug cartel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_cartel) monopolized the [cocaine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine) trade into the [United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) in the 1980s and early 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/8 "2024-05-31T02:23:06Z")
Ivan Boesky did 3 years for insider trading. He was reportedly worth about $280 million shortly before that. > **[Ivan Boesky](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Boesky)** > > Ivan Frederick Boesky (/ˈboʊski/; March 6, 1937 – May 20, 2024) was an American stock trader known for his prominent role in an insider trading scandal in the mid-1980s. He pleaded guilty, was fined a record $100 million, served three years in prison, and became a government informant. > Boesky was born to a Jewish family in Detroit, Michigan. His family owned several delicatessens and taverns in the city. He attended the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills before graduating from Detroit's Mum... ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/9 "2024-05-31T02:30:31Z")
Jeffrey Epstein was worth about $560 million at the time he was convicted of sex trafficking. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/10 "2024-05-31T02:37:48Z")
It’s not clear exactly what the size of his wealth was in today’s dollars but [Griffith J. Griffith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffith_J._Griffith), who was wealthy enough to donate the land for the eponymous park in Los Angeles and the trust that later constructed Griffith Observatory and Greek Theater, was imprisoned for nearly two years for intentionally shooting his wife in the head. (She lived, although disfigured.) The value of the Griffith Park today, if parceled up for real estate, would certainly be in the billions of dollars alone notwithstanding Griffith’s other properties and investments. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/11 "2024-05-31T04:02:35Z")
[Michael Milken](https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-milken/?sh=118dd522b390). Fortune estimates his wealth at USD6.5B today. Insider trading, paid a $600 million dollar fine, and did 22 months in the pokey. Trumpy pardoned him right before getting on the plane to Florida 18 Feb 2020 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/12 "2024-05-31T04:07:36Z")
Scrooge McDuck, as recounted in the Duckman of Aquatraz. Okay, the richest duck to to ever do time for felony if you’re gonna get all humancentric about what a person is. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/13 "2024-05-31T07:41:35Z")
[Mikhail Khodorkovsky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Khodorkovsky#:~:text=On%2030%20May%202005%2C%20Mikhail,in%20a%20medium%20security%20prison.), who was reputed to be the richest man in Russia with a wealth exceeding $15 Billion, and no. 16 on Forbes’ rich list, was jailed by Putin, ostensibly for fraud and embezzlement but also his democratic reform advocacy. Given what has happened to some careless people when they leaned out of windows or decided to swallow radioactive material, he’s probably very lucky when Putin eventually pardoned him. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/14 "2024-05-31T13:06:02Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > [Mikhail Khodorkovsky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Khodorkovsky#:~:text=On%2030%20May%202005%2C%20Mikhail,in%20a%20medium%20security%20prison.), who was reputed to be the richest man in Russia with a wealth exceeding $15 Billion, and no. 16 on Forbes’ rich list, was jailed by Putin, ostensibly for fraud and embezzlement but also his democratic reform advocacy. > > Given what has happened to some careless people when they leaned out of windows or decided to swallow radioactive material, he’s probably very lucky when Putin eventually pardoned him. From what I read, the main reason for charges, jail, and eventual release was so that Putin’s cronies could take control of Yukos and its oil business, since unlike most ex-Soviet businesses, he actually made it a decent productive company. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/15 "2024-05-31T13:12:58Z")
Apparently Harvey Weinstein was worth $300m; now is “only” worth $25m. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/16 "2024-05-31T14:03:49Z")
How about Ferdinand Marcos? According to Google, he might have been around $30 billion. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/17 "2024-05-31T14:30:50Z")
Jared Kushner’s father Charles did time for tax evasion and was later pardoned by Trump. But I don’t know how rich he is/was compared to some of the others mentioned in this thread, or whether the pardon makes a difference. (Someone mentioned in one of the Trump threads that now both Kushner’s father _and_ father-in-law are millionaires and convicted felons.) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/18 "2024-05-31T15:00:27Z")
China has a history of going after billionaires with Jack Ma the most famous recent example… Most have been able to pay a big fine and not do time. One who did time was [Xu Ming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xu_Ming). 8th richest person in China in 2005, per Forbes, at $1+B. Died in prison. In Thailand there’s Prasit Jeawkok who was recently packed off. But real info in his wealth is not forthcoming. (Typical lying quasi-rich guy.) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/19 "2024-05-31T17:02:35Z")
John Du Pont, about the same amount translated to 2024. Technically Epstein wasn’t convicted yet, I think? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2024, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-richest-person-to-ever-do-time-for-a-felony/1002308/20 "2024-06-01T03:05:48Z")
A new contender, billionaire Robert Miller. > **[Quebec billionaire Robert Miller arrested, charged with sex offences against...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/quebec-billionaire-robert-miller-arrested-210704177.html)** > > Reclusive Quebec billionaire Robert G. Miller, who allegedly paid several young girls large sums of money in exchange for sexual favours, was arrested Thursday afternoon and faces 21 charges, including sexual assault, obtaining sexual services for...