Just who was the man whose name has become synonymous with the classic “rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul” scam in which money from new investors is used to reward earlier ones? In December 1919, he was an unknown thirty-eight-year-old, self-educated Italian immigrant with a borrowed two-hundred dollars in his pocket. Six months later, he was Boston’s famed “wizard of finance,” lionized by the public and politicians alike. Based on exclusive interviews with people who knew Charles Ponzi, lent him their money, and exposed him, Donald Dunn’s Ponzi recreates both one of America’s most notorious and colorful financial con artists and the mad money-hungry era in which he thrived.
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Summary
Overall Great biography of the guy for whom the Ponzi scheme is named. It details his rise from petty con man to Boston's \"Wizard of Finance\". Ponzi was able to con several prominent citizens and gain endorsements to the point that it appeared as if his \"business\" was legitimate, fooling many smart people who should have known
better. You can see the same techniques Ponzi used repeated in the Enron swindle, human nature doesn't change. In addition to being entertaining, the book can help you avoid
being taken by the conmen of today. Review by Danno.