Making money and being a multimillionaire is what many dream about. However, not all people choose the right, legal or fair road to make it possible.
Al Capone is one of the greatest examples you can find out there representing what a real gangster is and the money you can earn from choosing evil actions above others (we’re not encouraging you to follow his steps!).
However, we do want to go over the history of this man because you never sin from knowing, as people would say, general culture!
Also, we have to admit that even when you don’t do things humanly right, you still gotta know how to do business to make it possible. Therefore, let’s focus on what you can take from this man and leave the rest as culture.
Al Capone: Most Infamous Gangster in American History
We are not exaggerating with the subheading and also find it crucial to leave this clear before starting.
Whenever you ask someone for this man, you will most likely obtain the same general answer, “the infamous gangster.”
He lived to more than people’s expectations regarding how “bad” of a bad guy you can be.
Now, Al Capone was born on January 17, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York. His name at the time was Alphonse Capone.
But after he turned 17 and started working in the “business,” he changed it to a shorter version of his family name, making it Al Capone, which many people know him by today.
Overall, he was just a regular person whose parents were Gabriele Capone and Teresa Capone (both Italian). Despite what you might think, his father was a barber while his mother was a seamstress (nothing weird so far).
Then, when did things start to go wrong with their son? It is hard to know.
Al Capone is known for having violent behavior and was unable to follow the rules, leading to having him expelled from school at the age of 14 after hitting a female teacher in her face.
This led to him working in different places around the city and other locations.
His first organized crime or involvement with certain felonies presumptively started in New York City, where he was involved with small gangs like Junior Forty Thieves, the Bowery Boys, Brooklyn Rippers, and then to move on with powerful ones like Five Points Gang.
Between 1916 and 1918, he was known for playing semi-professional baseball. But why do we care about this? Because it was during this time, Al Capone met Johnny Torrio, a gangster who he considered a mentor, and influenced his decision.
This is when his harmful actions and history in organized crime begins.
Influenced by Torrio, Al Capone moved to Chicago in 1919, where he started to handle different jobs and tasks by his mentor, leading him to be his right-hand in Torrio’s organized crime group.
During an incident in 1925, Torrio was shot several times. Despite his recovery, he decided to retire and leave the “business” to Capone, which controlled gambling, prostitution, racketeering, and bootlegging in different cities across the USA and Canada.
This was when people started to know his name, following all the incidents and crimes he was related to.
In Capone’s history, a feud with Aiello for the head of the Unione Siciliana took place; political alliances were made, and the most infamous incident has to be mentioned: Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929.
It included the death of seven members and associates of Chicago’s North Side, which were lined up against a wall at a Lincoln Park garage and shot.
From here, where are we left? In all the fights against the police, tax evasion records, more immoral “businesses,” his imprisonment, failing health, and finally death.
Al Capone died on January 25, 1947, when his heart failed due to apoplexy, which resulted from a long medical history that includes the effects of syphilis he contracted in his early years (and never treated).
Allies but Also Enemies
If we take our time to go over each aspect and fact about Al Capone’s life, it will be hard to finish anytime soon.
The truth is that the man has uncountable crimes associated with his name and gang. If you wonder how he reached the top in this field, it wasn’t only because of Torrio’s decision, as we previously mentioned.
Capone was outstanding in his “work,” and he was the right guy if you wanted someone to get things done.
His violent behavior and how genius he was when it came to money was, unfortunately, an excellent combination for the organizations.
Before he assumed the role of a boss, he had several allies to whom we don’t know the exact names.
However, after he became the gang’s head at the age of 26, many more started to get involved with the gangster.
Jazz musicians like Milt Hilton and Lionel Hampton reportedly had uncles working for the heist, and pianist Earl Hines was associated with the man several times.
But what about big names in the “business”?
Rocco “Machine Gun” de Grazia, Louis “Little New York” Campagna, Claude Maddox, Nick Circella, Sam Costello, Frankie LaPorte, and Jimmy Emery are only a few ones related to Capone’s organization.
Joe Aiello, who ambitioned to be named the head of the Unione Siciliana, was one of the main enemies in the 1920s.
Bugs Moran, head of the North Side Gang, was on Capone’s sight due to some “business” problems, and this is linked to the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre since it was an attempt to eliminate him.
Plots against the gangster were typical and ordered by many heads of other gangs and organized crime organizations.
Was The “Business” Worth It?
Going back to what we said about being millionaires, you cannot expect people to get involved in organized crime without a benefit.
Most people involved in it are either multimillionaires or earn a lot of money, and for someone like Capone, you can expect things to follow this rule.
Capone had a net worth of $100 million at the time of his death, which he only used to continue operating his “family business,” acquire properties, provide to his family, and enjoy luxuries.
Of course, the money earned in the gang or organization overall is different from his net worth, which is why you can expect more zeros to be involved.
Now, despite it being millions, it is a fact that all this money was obtained thanks to anything but legal or completely clean investments.
Prostitution, arms traffic, and gambling were (supposedly) the leading businesses in his organization that made him the most considerable sum of money.
Payments for his allies and gang members are evident by this point.
Can we call this profitable? Unfortunately, yes.
Al Capone was a gangster but, in the end, a businessman as well despite being infamous.
But being known by the police, federals, and every justice entity, was his money never confiscated?
More like the money itself, bank accounts were closed or intervened while properties like his homes in Florida, seized.
However, what people remember the most about Capone’s money is the fortune that continues missed.
A few films have covered this part of Capone’s life where he saved some of his millions in different boxes.
His great-niece Deirdre Marie Capone theorizes and mentions that his great-uncle used many safety deposit boxes during an interview with Vanity Fair. She believes millions are saved and lost for this reason.
Most Infamous Gangster’s Facts & Criminal Activity
- We have to go back to his history: Al Capone played semi-pro baseball. That’s something you wouldn’t expect from a criminal! A great player during the day, gangster at night.
- His other nickname is “Scarface”, which he reportedly hated or didn’t care about.
- He considered himself a man with excellent fashion sense.
- Capone was never charged for the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
- He wasn’t imprisoned for his murders or most known crimes. Instead, taxes sent him to prison.
- He played in Alcatraz’s band, where he was fulfilling his sentence.
- Syphilis helped him to make his way out of prison but took his life.
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