In reality it was actual cash money. He couldn't use banks due to his money being gained through illegal means. He had stacks of money just laying around so much he couldn't really secure it. Columbia is generally warm and humid so a lot of pests like rats and insects. I heard he was spending around 10k a week just on rubber bands to wrap the money into stacks of a thousands.

If you don't know he made most of his money by selling cocaine though.

Cash. His business was illegal (naturally), and it was the 1980s, so most of his profits were in literal cash that could not really be safely put in banks in the amounts he was bringing it in. So much of it was physically stored and hidden in various safehouses... and sometimes, vermin and the elements would get at it, destroying or rotting the paper money beyond usability.

It being the literal cash.

No, his literal bank notes. Due to the nature of his business he hid his money wherever he could and a percentage of it was lost to environmental factors.

It looks like "it" is money, USD specifically judging by the $ in the meme.

$2.1B a year

$420M a week

I don't think that's 10%.

He bought a country with it first

Cash, delicious, delicious paper

Honestly, when your whole organisation is hardened criminals <10% grift is pretty impressive.