Has anyone ever come across an estimate of how much was made from runnin booze over the whole 13 year stretch and as a whole?

I've seen yearly figures and such for individuals and gangs but have'nt seen any estimate for the whole shebang.

Thanks
Ron

You probably won't find any reliable estimate of the total value of illicit booze during Prohibition for three reasons:
1. Since the business was illegal, no one reported figures for tax or shareholder purposes.
2. A lot of small-time operators made and sold booze in addition to the big mobs.
3. Before Prohibition, organized crime was small-time and local. But Prohibition made organized crime big-time and regional, national and international in operation. Also, the size and scope of their operations led big gangs into rackets other than booze. For example, Capone's Chicago "Outfit" was reputed to have brought in $80-110 million per year at its peak. But much of that revenue came from prostitution, gambling, loan-sharking and fairly sophisticated business and labor shakedowns, not just booze.

I've read that $60 million of the $105 million (peak year) was solely attributable to booze. (Allowing for inflation, that'd be worth about $750 million in one year now).

Prohibition was a great cash-cow for Organized Crime, and it cost the government billions in lost revenues AND the cost of trying to enforce it.

I wonder if there's any truth to the urban legend that the Kennedy family still gets a few cents on every bottle of scotch whiskey imported from the UK.

Yes. And the only reason we have those estimates is that the government thoroughly investigated Capone for the big tax evasion case they successfully brought against him.

Thanks for the input gents!

Got into a conversation with a friend at work and Prohibition came up. Tried to explain to him how it basically made organized crime what it is from the revenues of bootlegging and how it allowed them to branch out into other areas. He was skeptical so was looking for a reference to estimated figures I could show him.

Cosidering it was a 13 year stretch and that basically every underworld member was involved all over the country I would think in the low billions would be a fair guesstimate.

Anyone think that's too high?

Thanks
Ron