Khaberni - The story "The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower Twice" is considered one of the strangest and smartest frauds in history. Its hero is Victor Lustig (VictorLustig), an Austrian-born man who specialized in deception and fraud in the early twentieth century. He became famous for his intelligence, cunning, and superior ability to convince others, even deceiving some of the smartest businessmen and banks, including a successful attempt to defraud Al Capone, one of the most dangerous organized crime leaders in America.
Who is Victor Lustig?
Victor Lustig was born in 1890 in Austria-Hungary (specifically in what is known today as the Czech Republic), and grew up in a cultured environment. He was intelligent, multilingual, eloquent, and fluent in French, English, and German. He began his criminal career in his youth, specializing in defrauding passengers on transatlantic ships between Europe and America, claiming to be a businessman or an inventor.
Paris after World War I
In 1925, Paris was going through a period of economic and political tensions. The French government was struggling to rebuild the national economy after World War I. In this context, reports began to appear in French newspapers about the cost of maintaining the Eiffel Tower, and that the government was considering removing it due to high costs and its lack of practical benefit.
The Eiffel Tower had been built in 1889 for the World Fair, and was supposed to be dismantled after 20 years, but it was kept. Over time, the government began facing criticism from some quarters about the maintenance costs.
The Bold Plan
Lustig took advantage of this general atmosphere and devised a bold plan, convincing a French businessman that he was an official representative of the government, and that the state intended to sell the Eiffel Tower as "scrap," i.e., to dismantle it and sell its iron.
Lustig forged official documents and posed as the "Deputy Minister of Post and Telecommunications," rented a suite in one of the luxury hotels, then invited a group of leading metal traders in Paris for a highly confidential meeting, claiming that the government did not want to announce this deal publicly to avoid public outrage.
During the meeting, he explained to them that the Eiffel Tower would be dismantled soon and that the state was looking for a company to buy the iron and undertake its removal, and that they were among a selected group to consider the offer.
The First Victim
Among those present, businessman André Poisson was the most interested. He was new to the business world and was seeking to prove himself.
Lustig chose him as his first victim and worked to gain his confidence through compliments and official displays.
Poisson had some doubts, but Lustig was clever enough to plant in his mind that this deal was "semi-secret," and that it was natural for there not to be media coverage or published official documents. Lustig also sent a "fake assistant" to take Poisson on a field tour of the tower, giving the impression that the matter was genuine.
Finally, Poisson paid a large sum of money, in addition to a "small bribe" for Lustig to ensure he won the contract. As soon as he received the money, Lustig fled to Vienna, taking a fortune gathered from the fraud.
The Surprise: Poisson Did Not Inform the Police
What's interesting is that André Poisson did not inform the police! He felt extremely embarrassed about falling for this trap and preferred to bear the loss rather than become a laughingstock in the French press.
The Second Fraud
Several months later, Lustig returned to Paris, and repeated the same trick a second time. He rented the same hotel, forged the same documents, and invited a new group of metal traders. This time, however, he was not as lucky. One of the traders suspected something and informed the police, but Lustig managed to escape again before he was caught.
Subsequent Adventures and His End
After leaving France, Lustig headed to the United States, where he continued his life as a professional conman. He became known there for a fake money printing machine that deceived several banks and wealthy individuals.
His fraud on the most famous gang leader in Chicago
Around 1927, Lustig decided to gain the trust of Al Capone, the most famous gang leader in Chicago, but he did not dare to defraud him directly, as that would mean certain death.
So he thought of a cunning way, went to Al Capone and asked for $50,000 to invest in a "big deal."
Lustig kept the money for a full two months without touching it.
Then he returned to Capone and said, "Sorry Mr. Capone, the deal failed, and here is all your money."
Capone, surprised by the honesty of a man in a world full of fraudsters, then gave him five thousand dollars as a reward for his honesty! And so Lustig obtained the money he wanted without risking deceiving the most dangerous man in America!
In the end, Victor Lustig was caught in the United States in 1935 after years of being pursued, and was tried on multiple charges of fraud and forgery. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and spent the remainder of his life in Alcatraz prison, where he died in 1947 due to pneumonia, according to "newyorkalmanack.".
Today, Lustig is considered one of the greatest conmen in history, not only because of what he did, but because of the smart and bold way he executed his operations. He was nicknamed "The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower Twice," a phrase that summarizes the ingenuity of this person in the world of deception and persuasion.
