Carlo always felt as though he was destined for something bigger than this. He was born in the Kingdom of Italy, which had just become an independent nation, in 1882. Carlo's family had once been wealthy, but by the time he was born, the good times were long gone. Still, he managed to attend university in Rome, but he probably spent more time partying than studying.
In the meantime, another, far less-known Italian (at the time) by the name of Mario was studying to become a plumber. And for a while, he made good money fixing literal pipes in people's homes. Of course, he had a tragic trajectory of his own...he became addicted to magic mushrooms and was eventually found guilty of animal cruelty after stomping on dozens of turtles.
By the way, I watched the "MADOFF" Netflix documentary not so long ago. Can recommend. It sheds light on quite a few failures of government institutions tasked with keeping things in check to prevent exactly the kind of schemes Bernie Madoff had going on.
In Nigeria, a con man called Fred Ajudua studied the French con, Victor Ludwig, very closely. Just as Ludwig tried to sell the Effel Tower, Ajudua tried to sell Nigeria's National Theatre. Ajudua pulled so many deals, only for some crazy reason,he didn't end up in jail as long as Bernie Madoff would. Ajudua con tricks were legendary, so legendary that he inspired another group of con men to wreck a Brazilian bank, swindling it of hundreds of millions of dollars.
"He had a real knack for selling pipe dreams!"
In the meantime, another, far less-known Italian (at the time) by the name of Mario was studying to become a plumber. And for a while, he made good money fixing literal pipes in people's homes. Of course, he had a tragic trajectory of his own...he became addicted to magic mushrooms and was eventually found guilty of animal cruelty after stomping on dozens of turtles.
By the way, I watched the "MADOFF" Netflix documentary not so long ago. Can recommend. It sheds light on quite a few failures of government institutions tasked with keeping things in check to prevent exactly the kind of schemes Bernie Madoff had going on.
Modern Ponzi Scheme: people that make money on Substack, by getting paid by Substack writers for advice to follow and share other Substack writers.
In Nigeria, a con man called Fred Ajudua studied the French con, Victor Ludwig, very closely. Just as Ludwig tried to sell the Effel Tower, Ajudua tried to sell Nigeria's National Theatre. Ajudua pulled so many deals, only for some crazy reason,he didn't end up in jail as long as Bernie Madoff would. Ajudua con tricks were legendary, so legendary that he inspired another group of con men to wreck a Brazilian bank, swindling it of hundreds of millions of dollars.
So many people never took the time to understand crypto and where the "sweet, sweet yield" was coming from.
Great article.