#636 | Victor Lustig: The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower

In 1925, Victor Lustig convinced a Paris scrap-metal dealer that the French government was selling the Eiffel Tower.

His secret was a mixture of official papers, careful acting, and victims too embarrassed to report him.

He later returned to Paris and tried to sell it again.

Victor Lustig reads that Paris may dismantle the rusting Eiffel Tower

Born in Bohemia, Lustig learns languages, gambles and develops his skill at deception

On Atlantic liners, he persuades wealthy passengers to invest in imaginary projects

In America, he sells a fake money-printing box containing hidden real banknotes

A Texas sheriff confronts Lustig, then receives counterfeit money as compensation

Lustig uses forged ministry letters to invite scrap metal dealers to his hotel

André Poisson buys the Eiffel Tower and pays Lustig a bribe

Poisson stays silent from shame, so Lustig returns to attempt the scam again

Lustig tricks Al Capone into paying him for returning an untouched investment