Ponzis Scheme Zuckoff, Mitchell

It was a time when anything seemed possible, and for a few weeks in 1920, Charles Ponzi made it all come true. Promising to double investors money in three months, the dapper, charming Ponzi raised the rob Peter to pay Paul scam to an art form. Ponzi was a likable man. His intentions were noble, his manners impeccable, his sales pitch enchanting. Born to a genteel Italian family, he immigrated to the United States with big dreams but no money. Only after he fell hopelessly in love did Ponzi light on the means to make his dreams come true. At the peak of his success, he was taking in more than $2 million a week. And then his house of cards came crashing down--thanks in large part to the relentless investigative reporting of the Boston Post.--From publisher description. *Author: Zuckoff, Mitchell *Subtitle: The True Story of a Financial Legend *Publication Date: 2006/01/10 *Number of Pages: 390 *Binding Type: Paperback *Language: English *Depth: 1.00 *Width: 5.25 *Height: 8.25

From the Publisher:
A close-up look at the career of the colorful and charismatic scoundrel who developed the most famous scheme in the history of American finance explains how, in 1920, Charles Ponzi successfully raked in millions of dollars from would-be investors by promising them he could double their investments in three months.

Annotation:
The name Ponzi will forever be associated with the get-rich-quick scheme that swindled thousands of Americans out of their savings in Boston back in 1920. Italian immigrant Charles Ponzi figured out that people would give him large sums of cash if he promised that, after a time, their money would grow and they would get a large return. His simple swindle was appealing, yet it had a flaw: it depended on a delayed payout, and on new investors paying off older ones. But Ponzi acquired millions of dollars in a brief period of time, and he lived high on the hog. Mitchell Zuckoff captures the spirit of the Gilded Age, and tells how this bold and entrepreneurial con man saw his opportunity in the American willingness to be conned. In the end, he was, some say, a victim of his own wide-eyed optimism. Though he met an ignominious end, Ponzi's name lives on in the answers to Jeopardy-like games, and variations of the scam that bears his name still exist to trap the unwary.

Product Attributes

Book Format:		Paperback
Number of Pages:		0390
Publisher:		Random House Trade

BloomReach Content

Ponzi's Scheme The True Story of a Financial Legend (Paperback)

Product Details:

Rakuten