“Always Be Yourself” Is a Lesson From the Con Artist Who Sold the Eiffel Tower
You can’t be happy by stealing from others.
You’d laugh in my face if I said I have a box that duplicates dollar bills. Yet the best con artists can sell this hoax to just about anyone, including law enforcement officials.
This pales, however, when compared with being able to sell the most unexpected objects: World famous historical monuments.
How to run (spectacular) scams
Victor Lustig was a typical bright high-school boy who did no homework but knew every answer in the classroom. He lacked life experience, though. He discovered his passion for theft and served three jail sentences before turning 20.
Theft isn’t how you get rich. You have to convince people to give you money voluntarily. Which Mr. Lustig became very good at.
“You’re that Broadway producer I read about in a newspaper! I’m about to begin staging a musical but I can’t pay a pianist. Could you support me?”
He pulled this one on rich travelers on Atlantic liners to finance a non-existent Broadway production.
Mr. Lustig borrowed money from a bank against bonds for a repossessed property and used sleight of hand to disappear with both the bonds and the bank’s money.
He scammed a Texas sheriff out of $1,000 by selling him a box that could supposedly duplicate dollar bills in six hours. (The sheriff later pursued the con artist who convinced him he had used the machine wrongly and gave him counterfeit cash as compensation.)
He even scammed Al Capone by running a crooked scheme for the mafia that “unexpectedly” fell through. Mr. Lustig convinced the mafia boss he had lost all means of supporting himself and got a $5,000 present to “tide him over.”
But all that pales compared to Mr. Lustig’s most notorious scam — selling the Eiffel Tower.
The monument was falling into disrepair in 1925 as it was getting expensive for Paris to maintain and repaint it. Rumor has it that part of the population thought it didn’t fit the city landscape.
Mr. Lustig invited six scrap metal dealers to an expensive hotel where he introduced himself as a government official. He said the French government wanted to sell the Eiffel Tower for scrap.
Our hero identified the most insecure participant, Mr. André Poisson, who wanted to rise within the Parisian inner business community. The two men arranged a private meeting where Mr. Lustig convinced him he was a corrupt official who needed money to enjoy his expensive lifestyle.
Mr. Poisson agreed to pay a bribe of 70,000 francs ($3,300 in 1925 = $60,000 now) to secure ownership of the Eiffel Tower. That was the last time he saw our hero.
The funny thing is, Mr. Poisson was too ashamed to report the scam to the police. Mr. Lustig went back to Paris a year later and tried to pull off his scam again. That time, someone became suspicious and informed the authorities.
The con artist had to flee to the US.
Addiction leads to wasted talent
Mr. Lustig could have given psychology classes at Harvard University. His understanding of human nature may have made him as legendary as Sigmund Freud who left a legacy in psychology.
Our hero chose the path of least resistance by scamming the most vulnerable among us. The promise of easy money is a key that unlocks trust and makes people drop their guard.
Mr. Lustig had a bad end. His mistress learned in 1935 that he was cheating on her and took revenge by calling the federal authorities. Mr. Lustig was arrested but managed to escape before the trial. He faked illness and used a rope to climb out of the detention center.
The con artist with an actor’s talent was captured again a month later, found guilty, and sent to jail in Alcatraz where he died of pneumonia twelve years later.
The moral of the story is this: You become vulnerable when you try to be someone you’re not.
Mr. Poisson wanted to take a shortcut to the Parisian business hall of fame. Pretending to be a big shot wouldn’t have helped him.
I’ve seen this in my research career. You only need someone to say two sentences to figure out if they understand solid-state physics. It gets awkward when they can’t follow a discussion because, well, they’re not who they want you to think they are.
Take the time to become the person of your dreams by actually putting in the effort to get there.
Mr. Lustig took this dishonest contest to another level by faking his personality (and lying to people who trusted him). How many folks did he make feel stupid? How many lost money? How many had to ditch their dreams?
You can’t become happy by making others unhappy. Mr. Lustig couldn’t stop. His insatiable craving for money was an addiction that cost him his freedom and, eventually, his life.
He didn’t get hit by a car. He didn’t die from food poisoning. He got caught because he was cheating on someone who was in love with him.
Speaking of karma… be honest with others. Chances are good they’ll be honest with you in return.
The bottom line
You can spot pretentious behavior unless the person in question is a skilled con artist like Mr. Lustig. Fortunately, such individuals are rare.
A long-term habit of scamming others is an addiction that inevitably culminates in personal demise.
Being yourself is the best way to win people’s trust, even if you show you’re not perfect. People will remember you for being genuine and human.
This is the best combination for building lasting relationships.
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