Summary:
The global organized crime has generated revenues of over 60,000 billion dollars in the last 30 years. The accumulated profits obtained by organized crime from drug trafficking alone during the last 37 years are higher than the wealth of all the billionaires in the world.
There are only two options:
- Option 1: There are potentially hundreds or thousands of hidden illegal billionaires, making organized crime the dominant force in the global economy, given its wealth surpasses that of all legal billionaires combined.
- Option 2: There are no hundreds/thousands of illegal billionaires in the world. There are two types of actors: private actors and state actors. If it is not private, it means that it is a state actor. If the huge profits of organized crime cannot be traced back to the world’s private property, this means they were obtained and used by the (Western) states. This option is supported by two facts: states in the past were the ones who organized drug trafficking, and today there are no (hundreds/thousands) known billionaires from illegal activities, according to Forbes.
From the states' point of view: Are Western states involved in illegal activities? is a Yes or No question. If the answer is No, then the huge illegal wealth of organized crime must exist, making organized crime the dominant force in the global economy.
The global organized crime has generated revenues of over 60,000 billion dollars in the last 30 years.[1]
The profits of organized crime from drug trafficking alone over the last 37 years (1988–2024) amount to 15,020 billion dollars.[2]
In 2024, there were 2,781 billionaires with a net wealth of 14,200 billion dollars.[3]
The accumulated profits obtained by organized crime from drug trafficking alone during the last 37 years are higher than the wealth of all the billionaires in the world.
The combined wealth of organized crime is much higher than the wealth of all the billionaires in the world because:
- Organized crime achieves substantial profits apart from drug trafficking. Profits from human trafficking account to $150 billion annually,[4] and counterfeiting activities bring between $923 billion and $1,300 billion annually to organized crime.[5]
- The profits of organized crime invested in legal businesses generate, in turn, significant revenues.
- We can expand the timeframe from 37 to more than 100 years, as organized crime has been making a profit for centuries.
It is absurd to believe that people in organized crime risk their lives to make such profits, and then they do not spend the money they gain. It is absurd and impossible given that the US money supply is around 1,500 billion dollars.[6] Organized crime has definitely changed these profits for something because, otherwise, there would be no money in circulation around the world. The question is: What has organized crime changed these profits for? Surprisingly, organized crime has not invested these profits in legal businesses because it would have been possible for it to buy more than half of all publicly traded companies in the world. Investing in the S&P 500 only the profits from drug trafficking over the past 37 years, organized crime would have a fortune of $75,993 billion.[7] In 2024, the market capitalization of all public companies in the world was $126,000 billion,[8] and the market capitalization of the S&P 500 was $49,810 billion.[9] Because invested profits are greater than the market capitalization, this means that by 2024, organized crime would have had the opportunity to buy all 500 companies in the S&P 500. There is no knowledge of a single industry or large company to be financed from illegal money. Organized crime has not invested these profits in properties either (buildings, cars, etc.), because all these are known to the states for tax purposes. Regardless of what they changed these profits for, the question is: How was it possible for huge amounts of money to be spent and, today, there is not even one billionaire to have made a fortune out of illegal activities? Today, there are no known billionaires from illicit activities.[10] There aren't tens or hundreds of billionaires in dollars missing, but thousands of billionaires. The number of billionaires as a result of illegal activities should be higher than the number of legal billionaires.
There are two types of actors: private actors and state actors. If it is not private, it means that it is a state actor. If such huge profits cannot be traced back to the world’s private property, this means they were obtained and used by the states. Such profits were spent, year by year, by states and are, thus, not found in any private property around the world.
There are only two options:
- Option 1: There are potentially hundreds or thousands of hidden illegal billionaires, making organized crime the dominant force in the global economy, given its wealth surpasses that of all legal billionaires combined.
- Option 2: There are no hundreds/thousands of illegal billionaires in the world. There are two types of actors: private actors and state actors. If it is not private, it means that it is a state actor. If the huge profits of organized crime cannot be traced back to the world’s private property, this means they were obtained and used by the (Western) states. This option is supported by two facts: states in the past were the ones who organized drug trafficking, and today there are no (hundreds/thousands) known billionaires from illegal activities, according to Forbes.
From the states' point of view: Are Western states involved in illegal activities? is a Yes or No question. If the answer is No, then the huge illegal wealth of organized crime must exist, making organized crime the dominant force in the global economy.
The Dark State
The profits of organized crime from drug trafficking alone over the last 37 years (1988–2024) amount to 15,020 billion dollars.[2]
In 2024, there were 2,781 billionaires with a net wealth of 14,200 billion dollars.[3]
The accumulated profits obtained by organized crime from drug trafficking alone during the last 37 years are higher than the wealth of all the billionaires in the world.
The combined wealth of organized crime is much higher than the wealth of all the billionaires in the world because:
- Organized crime achieves substantial profits apart from drug trafficking. Profits from human trafficking account to $150 billion annually,[4] and counterfeiting activities bring between $923 billion and $1,300 billion annually to organized crime.[5]
- The profits of organized crime invested in legal businesses generate, in turn, significant revenues.
- We can expand the timeframe from 37 to more than 100 years, as organized crime has been making a profit for centuries.
It is absurd to believe that people in organized crime risk their lives to make such profits, and then they do not spend the money they gain. It is absurd and impossible given that the US money supply is around 1,500 billion dollars.[6] Organized crime has definitely changed these profits for something because, otherwise, there would be no money in circulation around the world. The question is: What has organized crime changed these profits for? Surprisingly, organized crime has not invested these profits in legal businesses because it would have been possible for it to buy more than half of all publicly traded companies in the world. Investing in the S&P 500 only the profits from drug trafficking over the past 37 years, organized crime would have a fortune of $75,993 billion.[7] In 2024, the market capitalization of all public companies in the world was $126,000 billion,[8] and the market capitalization of the S&P 500 was $49,810 billion.[9] Because invested profits are greater than the market capitalization, this means that by 2024, organized crime would have had the opportunity to buy all 500 companies in the S&P 500. There is no knowledge of a single industry or large company to be financed from illegal money. Organized crime has not invested these profits in properties either (buildings, cars, etc.), because all these are known to the states for tax purposes. Regardless of what they changed these profits for, the question is: How was it possible for huge amounts of money to be spent and, today, there is not even one billionaire to have made a fortune out of illegal activities? Today, there are no known billionaires from illicit activities.[10] There aren't tens or hundreds of billionaires in dollars missing, but thousands of billionaires. The number of billionaires as a result of illegal activities should be higher than the number of legal billionaires.
There are two types of actors: private actors and state actors. If it is not private, it means that it is a state actor. If such huge profits cannot be traced back to the world’s private property, this means they were obtained and used by the states. Such profits were spent, year by year, by states and are, thus, not found in any private property around the world.
Consider that estimates are largely inaccurate. Even if the profits invested in drug trafficking alone were 10 times smaller, organized crime would have a fortune of 7,599 billion dollars. A sufficiently high amount to make those who control organized crime some of the richest men on the planet, and there should be hundreds of billionaires from illegal activities. As both versions are false, even in the case where the organized crime’s profits were only a fraction of the real ones, we reach the same conclusion: states control organized crime.
From a historical point of view
It is known that Western countries were the ones who used to organize drug trafficking in the past.[11] History tells us what happens when drug trafficking is interrupted. The first opium war and the second opium war show that the British Empire, in order not to lose the huge profits generated from drug sales, is willing to use military force to resume the drug traffic. In 2001, the Taliban in Afghanistan had largely stopped drug production.[12] Within almost a year, the Taliban, without funds of billions of dollars, without advanced technology, without satellites, and without state-of-the-art surveillance means, had stopped over 90% of the drug production. The 2001 terrorist attacks happened the same year. The person guilty of these attacks had hidden in the same country where drug production was stopped. Over the following year, in 2002, after military intervention, particularly from the US, the drug production had returned to the previous level of 2001 and doubled within 5 years (2006).[13] Thus, when organized crime received a deadly hit, the US army came to the rescue. The same correlation between military presence and increased drug production can also be noted in the British army.[14]
It is known that Western countries were the ones who used to organize drug trafficking in the past.[11] History tells us what happens when drug trafficking is interrupted. The first opium war and the second opium war show that the British Empire, in order not to lose the huge profits generated from drug sales, is willing to use military force to resume the drug traffic. In 2001, the Taliban in Afghanistan had largely stopped drug production.[12] Within almost a year, the Taliban, without funds of billions of dollars, without advanced technology, without satellites, and without state-of-the-art surveillance means, had stopped over 90% of the drug production. The 2001 terrorist attacks happened the same year. The person guilty of these attacks had hidden in the same country where drug production was stopped. Over the following year, in 2002, after military intervention, particularly from the US, the drug production had returned to the previous level of 2001 and doubled within 5 years (2006).[13] Thus, when organized crime received a deadly hit, the US army came to the rescue. The same correlation between military presence and increased drug production can also be noted in the British army.[14]
From an economic point of view
Assume there is a business generating huge annual profits in the amount of a few hundreds of billions of dollars. We can sort all companies in descending order of their profitability. Within only a few years, the most profitable company can be purchased. Using the initial profit plus the profit of the company purchased, the following ranked company is purchased. By repeating this algorithm, we can understand that it is only a matter of time until the entire economy is controlled by those who own the initially extremely profitable business. Given that, in reality, this business exists and that is the drug trafficking business, there are two possibilities: either all the rich people are only puppets in the hands of organized crime, or the rich people altogether control organized crime (by means of the state).
A general rule of human society is wealth concentration. Applying this rule to the drug industry, we obtain the following:
- In time, the wealth coming from drugs would be found in the possession of a closed group of individuals whose personal wealth is several times higher than that of the richest person on the planet. The owners of large and profitable businesses are expected to be the world’s richest men. The most profitable human activities are illegal, and, subsequently, the leaders of organized crime would be the richest people on the planet.
- America would be dominated by 2-3 mega-criminal groups, just like all industries ended up being dominated by a few giants.
Both versions fail to correspond with reality. Thus, we either accept that a general rule exceptionally does not apply or we accept that it applies, and there is one single criminal group that monopolized America: the State. Thus, there are no rich people whose wealth is owed to illegal activities because, largely, the profits do not end up in private hands, but the state takes care that criminal groups are small so as not to create great problems for society. Profits are made by organizers in transit between the producing country and the market. Drugs are purchased at a price so that the producer stays poor and sold at a price close to the street price, so that the seller is not allowed to get rich.
One suspicious element is the lack of billion-dollar seizures. The mass media reports cases when criminal groups are arrested, but where are the billions of dollars they have made in the meantime and hidden as private assets? The private assets accumulated over time are missing, and seizing such fortune would be truly the sensational part of arresting a criminal group.
From the point of view of national security
Let’s consider a clandestine group that makes an annual profit of only 1 billion dollars. With this money, an army of 10,000 people trained to sabotage can be supported. With such an army, a country can be destabilized. For this reason alone, a clandestine group is a serious threat to national security. A state will never allow the existence of such groups because their clandestine nature means their leadership and the purpose for which they were created are unknown. Moreover, the state will not allow the existence of groups making modest profits. A clandestine group that produces only 100 million dollars every year can raise profits within 10 years and then act. For reasons of national security, we can guess that any major criminal group, regardless of its field of operation, is controlled by the state. The state will not allow any organization (or a different state) to conduct any profit-generating activity without the domestic state knowing of its existence. In order to make 1 billion dollars, more than 20,000 customers are required.[15] How can we believe that the state's intelligence services are able to find terrorist cells of only a few individuals and the same state is not capable of finding a network serving over 20,000 customers every year?
Let’s consider that states are not involved in illegal activities. All major, successful businesses in capitalism tend to become monopolies (or oligopolies). Therefore, drug trafficking in capitalism is a private monopoly (or oligopoly). The leader(s) of organized crime should be by far the richest man on the planet. Because organized crime is richer than all the legal billionaires in the world, it is the main force in the global economy.
Organized crime has made huge profits (reality). Common sense: its leaders should be very rich, surely there are many illegal billionaires hidden around the globe (assumption/belief). On how many facts is this assumption based? 0 facts. There are only two possibilities: either states are involved in illegal activities or they are not, in which case organized crime is the main force in the global economy. How is it possible that organized crime is the main force in the global economy when there is no evidence that illegal billionaires exist or that organized crime controls a single major company? We have a choice between believing that the state controls organized crime (based on 2 facts: states in the past were the ones who organized drug trafficking, and today there are no known billionaires in illegal activities) and believing that there are many hidden illegal billionaires, the richest man on the planet is a hidden criminal, and organized crime is the main force of the global economy (based on 0 facts). It seems we have a choice between two options that, on the surface, could be considered two conspiracy theories, except that one of the theories is reality. This is because one of the two is true - either states are involved in illegal activities or they are not. To say that states are not involved in illegal activities is equivalent to saying that organized crime is the main force in the global economy. Thus, one of the two alternatives is true - either states are involved in illegal activities or organized crime is the main force in the global economy. It would be rational to consider that states being involved in illegal activities is true, a theory based on two facts, and that organized crime is the main force of the global economy is a conspiracy theory because it is based on 0 facts.
Conclusion
From all these different points of view, it follows that the American state (the Western states) controls organized crime.
The illegality of the Western capitalist system, where the state and organized crime are intermingled, is simply proven by the lack of great private fortunes made by organized crime. Considering that the annual profits obtained by organized crime are hundreds of billions of dollars, we have two options: either the individuals making such profits are different from one year to another, or they are changed every large period of time. In the first case, hundreds of new billionaires in dollars who had made a fortune in illicit ways would appear every year. In the second case, the illicit wealth gathered over time would exceed the legally made wealth, meaning those who lead organized crime would be the richest people on the planet. Given that both versions are false, it means that the profits do not end up in private hands, so the Western countries are still organizing drug trafficking as they did in the past.
Consequences
The main threat to humanity is global war. Because states can be ruled by immoral, criminal individuals, we may no longer accept the collective responsibility of states in case of wars. A possible solution for mankind to be free of wars is to adopt a law by which the state is forbidden to finance wars. Financing wars will be made only by individual persons, who consider it necessary, based on a contract. The only wars to be financed by states are those that are legal under international law.
Further reading: "The Dark State Part 2" https://thedarkstates.blogspot.com/p/the-dark-state-part-2.html
Notes
Notes
1. If we consider 2009 [1.1] as the average of the last 30 years, we obtain cumulative revenues of $63,000 billion (2,100 x 30).
If organized crime revenues in 1994 are 0 and they grow linearly, reaching $2,100 billion in 2009 and $5,800 billion in 2024,[1.2] this results in cumulative revenues of $77,900 billion.
1.1 "The UNODC report estimates that the total amount of criminal proceeds generated in 2009, excluding those derived from tax evasion, may have been approximately $2.1 trillion, or 3.6 per cent of GDP in that year (2.3 to 5.5 per cent)."
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2011/October/illicit-money_-how-much-is-out-there.html
1.2 "Transnational organized crime takes in between 3% to 7% of world GDP annually ($109.53 trillion 2024 estimate); taking 5% as an average, that would be $5.8 trillion per year, which is more than twice all the world’s annual military budgets combined ($2.44 trillion)."
https://millennium-project.org/challenges-overview/global-challenge-12/#1716123620746-022a895d-cf5c
2. Taking inflation into account:[2.1] drug revenues of $124 billion in (December) 1988 [2.2] would be equivalent to $326 billion in January 2025, drug revenues of $400 billion in 1997 [2.3] would be equivalent to $787 billion in 2025, drug revenues of $321.6 billion in 2003 [2.4] would be equivalent to $554 billion in 2025, drug revenues of $426 billion in 2014 [2.5] would be equivalent to $576 billion in 2025. Linearly interpolating the missing values gives a total revenue of $21,457.5 billion,[2.6] from 1988 to 2024. 70% of these revenues are profits available for investment: $21,457.5 x 70% = $15,020 billion.
2.1 https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl
2.2 "The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) estimated that in the late 1980s, sales of cocaine, heroin and cannabis amounted to approximately US$124 billion per year in the United States and Europe 1 , of this total some US$85 billion or 70% was considered to have been available for money laundering and investment."
"The $124 billion referred to estimates for 1988;"
https://www.unodc.org/pdf/WDR_2005/volume_1_chap2.pdf p. 123
2.3 "1997 World Drug Report estimated a likely turnover of the illicit drug industry at around $400 billion."
https://www.unodc.org/pdf/WDR_2005/volume_1_chap2.pdf p. 124
2.4 "Based on the inputs and the calculations explained above, the value of the global illicit drug market for the year 2003 was estimated at US$13 bn at the production level, at $94 bn at the wholesale level (taking seizures into account), and at US$322bn based on retail prices and taking seizures and other losses into account."
https://www.unodc.org/pdf/WDR_2005/volume_1_chap2.pdf p. 127
2.5 http://www.gfintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Transnational_Crime-final.pdf p. xi
2.6 The Dark Wealth https://thedarkstates.blogspot.com/p/the-dark-wealth.html
3. 2024 "The 38th annual Forbes list of the world's billionaires found a record 2,781 billionaires with a total net wealth of $14.2 trillion."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World%27s_Billionaires
If organized crime revenues in 1994 are 0 and they grow linearly, reaching $2,100 billion in 2009 and $5,800 billion in 2024,[1.2] this results in cumulative revenues of $77,900 billion.
1.1 "The UNODC report estimates that the total amount of criminal proceeds generated in 2009, excluding those derived from tax evasion, may have been approximately $2.1 trillion, or 3.6 per cent of GDP in that year (2.3 to 5.5 per cent)."
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2011/October/illicit-money_-how-much-is-out-there.html
1.2 "Transnational organized crime takes in between 3% to 7% of world GDP annually ($109.53 trillion 2024 estimate); taking 5% as an average, that would be $5.8 trillion per year, which is more than twice all the world’s annual military budgets combined ($2.44 trillion)."
https://millennium-project.org/challenges-overview/global-challenge-12/#1716123620746-022a895d-cf5c
2. Taking inflation into account:[2.1] drug revenues of $124 billion in (December) 1988 [2.2] would be equivalent to $326 billion in January 2025, drug revenues of $400 billion in 1997 [2.3] would be equivalent to $787 billion in 2025, drug revenues of $321.6 billion in 2003 [2.4] would be equivalent to $554 billion in 2025, drug revenues of $426 billion in 2014 [2.5] would be equivalent to $576 billion in 2025. Linearly interpolating the missing values gives a total revenue of $21,457.5 billion,[2.6] from 1988 to 2024. 70% of these revenues are profits available for investment: $21,457.5 x 70% = $15,020 billion.
2.1 https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl
2.2 "The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) estimated that in the late 1980s, sales of cocaine, heroin and cannabis amounted to approximately US$124 billion per year in the United States and Europe 1 , of this total some US$85 billion or 70% was considered to have been available for money laundering and investment."
"The $124 billion referred to estimates for 1988;"
https://www.unodc.org/pdf/WDR_2005/volume_1_chap2.pdf p. 123
2.3 "1997 World Drug Report estimated a likely turnover of the illicit drug industry at around $400 billion."
https://www.unodc.org/pdf/WDR_2005/volume_1_chap2.pdf p. 124
2.4 "Based on the inputs and the calculations explained above, the value of the global illicit drug market for the year 2003 was estimated at US$13 bn at the production level, at $94 bn at the wholesale level (taking seizures into account), and at US$322bn based on retail prices and taking seizures and other losses into account."
https://www.unodc.org/pdf/WDR_2005/volume_1_chap2.pdf p. 127
2.5 http://www.gfintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Transnational_Crime-final.pdf p. xi
2.6 The Dark Wealth https://thedarkstates.blogspot.com/p/the-dark-wealth.html
3. 2024 "The 38th annual Forbes list of the world's billionaires found a record 2,781 billionaires with a total net wealth of $14.2 trillion."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World%27s_Billionaires
4. https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_243201/lang--en/index.htm
5. http://www.gfintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Transnational_Crime-final.pdf p. xi
6. Value of banknotes and coin in circulation (31 December 2016) - Billions of US dollars - United States 1,509.34
7. The Dark Wealth https://thedarkstates.blogspot.com/p/the-dark-wealth.html
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_capitalization
9. https://ycharts.com/indicators/sp_500_market_cap
10. https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/
11. Despite a major opium epidemic in China at the end of the 19th century, there was little interest in suppressing a business that was so profitable for opium merchants, shippers, bankers, insurance agencies and governments. Many national economies were as dependent on opium as the addicts themselves. Indeed, what Karl Marx described as "the free trade in poison" was such an important source of revenue for Great Powers that they fought for control of opium markets.
100 Years of Drug Control. Antonio Maria Costa - Executive Director - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/100_Years_of_Drug_Control.pdf
12. In July 2000, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, collaborating with the United Nations to eradicate heroin production in Afghanistan, declared that growing poppies was un-Islamic, resulting in one of the world's most successful anti-drug campaigns. The Taliban enforced a ban on poppy farming via threats, forced eradication, and public punishment of transgressors. The result was a 99% reduction in the area of opium poppy farming in Taliban-controlled areas, roughly three quarters of the world's supply of heroin at the time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_production_in_Afghanistan
13. World Drug Report 2008, p. 38
https://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf
15. Considering that the total average yearly salary of 50,000 dollars is the profit of a single criminal group, it follows that we have 1,000,000,000 / 50,000 = 20,000 clients.
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_capitalization
9. https://ycharts.com/indicators/sp_500_market_cap
10. https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/
11. Despite a major opium epidemic in China at the end of the 19th century, there was little interest in suppressing a business that was so profitable for opium merchants, shippers, bankers, insurance agencies and governments. Many national economies were as dependent on opium as the addicts themselves. Indeed, what Karl Marx described as "the free trade in poison" was such an important source of revenue for Great Powers that they fought for control of opium markets.
100 Years of Drug Control. Antonio Maria Costa - Executive Director - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/100_Years_of_Drug_Control.pdf
12. In July 2000, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, collaborating with the United Nations to eradicate heroin production in Afghanistan, declared that growing poppies was un-Islamic, resulting in one of the world's most successful anti-drug campaigns. The Taliban enforced a ban on poppy farming via threats, forced eradication, and public punishment of transgressors. The result was a 99% reduction in the area of opium poppy farming in Taliban-controlled areas, roughly three quarters of the world's supply of heroin at the time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_production_in_Afghanistan
13. World Drug Report 2008, p. 38
https://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf
15. Considering that the total average yearly salary of 50,000 dollars is the profit of a single criminal group, it follows that we have 1,000,000,000 / 50,000 = 20,000 clients.
