A Czech scam artist who was known as "the man who sold the Eiffel Tower. Twice". Yes, in the 1920's people fell for this, although such a sale was more plausible then, when the Eiffel Tower was newer than it would be now. Lustig's first scam was a "money-making machine", one of those if-its-too-good-to-be-true-it-ain't scams that appeal to many people's greedier instincts or sucker in the poor down to their last penny. Lustig moved on to ply his artistry for financial scams in New York City

People like Lustig and also Ponzi demonstrate the P.T. Barnum quote "(t)here's a sucker born every minute". They also are proof that there are always scam artists among us; Madoff is nothing knew. Its just that Bernard Madoff, like Victor Lustig, dreamed BIG.

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