At the height of Prohibition, Al Capone's criminal empire generated approximately $105 million per year from bootlegging, gambling, and prostitution. In today's dollars, that's roughly $1.8 billion annually.
Al Capone Made $1.8 Billion a Year During Prohibition
In the late 1920s, while America struggled through the contradictions of Prohibition, one man built an empire that would make modern tech billionaires pause. Al Capone, the notorious Chicago gangster, was pulling in approximately $105 million per year—a staggering fortune that translates to roughly $1.8 billion in today's money.
To put that in perspective: Capone was out-earning most legitimate corporations of his era. His annual take exceeded the entire budget of some small nations.
The Business of Breaking the Law
Capone's revenue streams were diversified in ways that would impress any MBA graduate:
- Bootlegging: The lion's share—around 60%—came from illegal alcohol sales
- Gambling operations: Casinos and betting parlors across Chicago
- Prostitution rings: A network of brothels throughout the city
- Protection rackets: "Insurance" payments from terrified business owners
His organization employed over 1,000 people at its peak, from street-level enforcers to accountants carefully laundering the profits through legitimate businesses like laundromats and restaurants.
The Price of Power
Running a billion-dollar criminal enterprise wasn't cheap. Capone reportedly spent $75 million annually on bribes alone—paying off everyone from beat cops to judges to city aldermen. Half the Chicago police force was allegedly on his payroll.
He also understood the value of public relations. During the Great Depression, Capone opened one of Chicago's first soup kitchens, feeding thousands of unemployed workers. The gesture earned him a Robin Hood reputation among the poor, even as he ordered the murders of rival gangsters.
What Finally Brought Him Down
Here's the dark irony: the federal government couldn't touch Capone for murder, bootlegging, or racketeering. They got him for tax evasion.
In 1931, Capone was convicted of failing to pay income tax on his illegal earnings and sentenced to 11 years in federal prison. The man who had corrupted an entire city, who had ordered the Valentine's Day Massacre, who had built a criminal empire worth billions—was ultimately undone by an accountant's ledger.
He served time at Alcatraz, where syphilis slowly destroyed his mind. By the time of his release in 1939, the once-fearsome crime boss had the mental capacity of a 12-year-old. He died in 1947 at his Florida estate, a shell of the man who had once ruled Chicago with an iron fist and a Tommy gun.
His empire dissolved almost overnight. But for a few glittering, violent years, Al Capone demonstrated just how profitable breaking the law could be—if you were ruthless enough to seize the opportunity.