The man who sold the Eiffel Tower, twice!
This is the story of Victor Lustig, who went down in history as the man who sold the Eiffel Tower not once, but twice.
This isn’t just about how he sold the Eiffel Tower twice, but the story of his life, his techniques, and his broader legacy.
You see he didn’t just sell the Eiffel Tower twice, he even fooled gangsters like Al Capone, on the way to becoming one of the most famous conmen. This is why his ability to charm, persuade, and deceive made him a legend in the annals of great conmen.
The Art of the Con
What qualities set him apart as a master manipulator and a salesman beyond compare?
Victor Lustig’s story is not just one of boldness, but of finesse, intelligence, and daring.
He seemed to be able to manipulate even the most sceptical of people and, naturally, institutions, which speaks to his incredible skill.
Victor Lustig: The Early Years
He was born in Hostinné, a small town, which in those days was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and is now part of the Czech Republic.
Early in his life it was obvious that he was highly intelligent. You see he was an extremely talented student, he excelled in languages and, which should have warned everyone, he showed an uncanny ability to understand human psychology. However, he chose to use these talents in a different way to others, he wanted to make his fortune quickly, and without the usual constraints.
He went for a life of crime, but not that of a violent criminal, he didn’t want to become a bank robber or something like that, he decided to become a con man, relying on his skill, charm, intellect, and persuasive skills.
Soon after leaving school, he realized that his education and natural charm were the ideal talents for a conman.
He had to start somewhere to develop these skills, so he decided that he could learn the skills of deception aboard trans-Atlantic ocean liners. He started by claiming to be a wealthy music producer seeking investment in fictitious Broadway productions. These allowed him to rub shoulders with the rich and powerful, learning what he needed for the high-level cons that would define his career.
The Con Artist’s Toolkit
Victor Lustig’s success as a con man comes down to his deep understanding of human psychology, the talent he first showed in school.
He knew how to:
- manipulate people’s desires, fears, and egos.
- master the art of appearing trustworthy,
- present himself as a respectable businessman, a suave aristocrat, or a government official.
- project confidence, which was key to his success.
However, the real reason his cons worked was because he understood a simple truth that we often want to believe in things that are too good to be true.
His victims weren’t stupid, they were often intelligent, successful people. The difference was that Lustig knew how to manipulate their greed or desperation. Whether they were looking for an easy profit or a quick solution to a problem, he was able to tell them what they wanted to hear, even though deep in their hearts, I think, they knew his offer was nothing but an illusion.
Lustig in America: The Scams Begin
By the time Lustig got to the United States, which was after World War I, he had worked out and was now experienced in the art of the con. The problem was the law had quickly learnt of his work as he soon became known to them for a series of daring schemes.
One scam concerned persuading a bank to give him money in exchange for fake bonds. He would present the bank with repossessed property bonds, pocket the money, and escape with both the bonds and the money.
This was only one of Lustig’s many scams. His charm and ability to disappear into the background made him a nightmare for law enforcement. He always seemed to be one step ahead. He was helped by his victims, as they were often too embarrassed to admit they had been swindled, this, of course, left him free to continue operating with relative impunity.
The Eiffel Tower.
His most famous con, of course, was the sale of the Eiffel Tower, twice!
It took place in 1925, when Paris was still recovering from World War I, and the Eiffel Tower, which had been built for the 1889 Exposition Universal, was beginning to show signs of wear. It was expensive to maintain, and there was even talk of tearing it down. Lustig saw this as an opportunity that he couldn’t resist.
His plan was simple, he posed as a civil servant from the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs, claiming he had been given the responsibility to sell the Eiffel Tower for scrap. He then held a series of meetings with scrap metal dealers, he was careful on how he selected his targets, it was based on their wealth and ambition. Lustig explained to them that the government wanted to keep the sale a secret to avoid public outcry and that the tower would go to the highest bidder.
Lustig’s success lay in the details. He always made certain that he held these meetings in luxury hotels, and he then took the dealers on a tour of the Eiffel Tower itself. The result was that everything about the con felt official. Eventually one dealer, called André Poisson, fell for the scam. Poisson handed over a large sum of money as a down payment, believing he had secured the deal of a lifetime.
After collecting the money, Lustig simply fled to Austria to wait for the fallout.
There was none!
This was because Poisson was so humiliated by the realization that he had been conned, he decided he didn’t want to go public with the story!
Actually, this was a key tool in any con man’s success. His victims’ embarrassment often kept them silent, which allowed him to continue to operate.
Selling the Eiffel Tower—Again!
Well, after successfully doing it once, you would imagine that Lustig would have thought that having got away with it, he would have considered himself lucky and moved on.
But that wasn’t Victor Lustig.
He decided to try the same con again and returned to Paris a few months later.
This time, however, his victim was not so easily fooled. After realizing what had happened, the second scrap dealer went straight to the police.
To be a good con artist you also must be a good escape artist, and Lustig was. He was able to flee Paris before he could be apprehended.
Nevertheless, the fact that he even attempted to sell the Eiffel Tower a second time tells us a lot about his skills, his abilities and his simple cheek.
I reckon it wasn’t about the money for Lustig, I think it was the thrill of the con and the feeling of success when outsmarting others and the enjoyment of pulling off the seemingly impossible.
The Money Box Scam.
The sale of the Eiffel Tower maybe regarded as Victor Lustig’s most audacious con, but it was by no means his only one. One of his more notable ones was the “money box” scam.
He made a small box that he claimed could print perfectly legitimate money. He would demonstrate the box to potential buyers by inserting a blank piece of paper and, after some time, produce a real banknote.
Obviously, Lustig had pre-loaded the box with real currency. It worked because he convinced his buyers that the box could reproduce money indefinitely. They would pay thousands of dollars for the box, only to discover that it didn’t work after they had “printed” the pre-loaded notes. Of course, by then, Lustig was long gone.
Lustig’s Downfall: The Al Capone Connection
Victor Lustig’s criminal career spanned continents and decades, but even the most elusive con men eventually slip up.
His downfall came not from selling the Eiffel Tower or the money box scam, but from his dealings with the infamous gangster, Al Capone.
Would you believe that he managed to con Al Capone out of $5,000, a dangerous move considering Capone’s reputation. Not surprisingly, Lustig wasn’t killed for his audacity; you see Al Capone was reported to have said he admired his nerve.
Eventually, his luck ran out when he was caught by the Secret Service in 1935 for counterfeiting. After his trial, he was sentenced to 20 years in Alcatraz, and it was there that he died in 1947.
The Legacy of Victor Lustig
Victor Lustig’s story is one of incredible boldness, intelligence, and courage.
He is remembered not just for his crimes, but for his sheer nerve in selling one of the world’s most famous landmarks, twice!
What makes Lustig’s story so fascinating is not just the scale of his cons, but the fact that he was able to pull them off without resorting to violence or coercion.
In many ways, Lustig represents the darker side of human ingenuity, the ability to deceive and manipulate others for personal gain. His story is a cautionary tale as it shows that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Doesn’t this make history fun?
Here are ten questions to delve deeper into the story of Victor Lustig and his legendary cons:
- What factors in post-World War I Paris made it feasible for Lustig to attempt selling the Eiffel Tower as scrap?
- How did Victor Lustig’s early life and education prepare him for a career in deception and manipulation?
- Why did Lustig decide to specialize in cons rather than turn to other forms of crime? What do his choices say about his character?
- What specific techniques did Lustig use to appear trustworthy to his targets, and how did he develop these skills?
- How did Lustig’s understanding of human psychology, such as people’s greed and desire for easy money, contribute to his success as a conman?
- Why do you think Lustig felt the need to attempt selling the Eiffel Tower a second time, even after his first success?
- In what ways did Lustig’s charm and intelligence allow him to escape law enforcement repeatedly, and what eventually led to his downfall?
- How did the “money box” scam work, and why was it effective in convincing people to invest in a fraudulent device?
- What was the nature of Lustig’s interactions with Al Capone, and why did the gangster respect rather than punish Lustig after being conned?
- What can we learn from Lustig’s story about human nature, particularly regarding our vulnerabilities and desires?
Click here for more information about Victor Lustig
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© Tony Dalton