The Man Who Tricked France Into SELLING the Eiffel Tower скачать в хорошем качестве

The Man Who Tricked France Into SELLING the Eiffel Tower

Paris, 1925. A con man walked into the French Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs. Told them the Eiffel Tower was being demolished. And sold it for scrap metal. To six different buyers. Twice. His name was Victor Lustig. And he pulled off the most audacious con in history. The Eiffel Tower wasn’t being demolished. There was no government meeting. Victor wasn’t even a government official. He was a con artist. And he convinced wealthy scrap metal dealers to pay him deposits totaling 300,000 francs for the privilege of buying France’s most famous landmark. How did he do it? Victor understood one simple truth: people will believe anything if they want it badly enough. The dealers wanted the Eiffel Tower’s 7,300 tons of iron. So they ignored every warning sign. The meeting in a hotel instead of a government building. The demand for cash deposits. The secrecy requirements. Their greed made them blind. And it worked. Victor collected the money and disappeared. The victims were too embarrassed to report it— they’d tried to buy the Eiffel Tower as scrap metal. Six months later, Victor returned to Paris. And did it again. Different dealers. Same scam. Another 200,000 francs. This time, one victim reported it. But Victor had already fled to America. In America, Victor targeted an even more dangerous mark: Al Capone. He convinced the Chicago crime boss to invest $50,000 in a fake money-making scheme. When Capone handed over the cash, Victor ran. And Capone never reported it either—the most feared gangster in America had been conned, and he couldn’t admit it. For twenty years, Victor Lustig ran cons across Europe and America. He spoke five languages, had fortyseven aliases, and understood human psychology better than anyone. But in 1934, the FBI finally caught him. Agent Peter O’Connell had been tracking Victor for years. One victim recognized Victor from a wanted poster and called police. After two decades of running, Victor Lustig was arrested. He was sentenced to fifty years in federal prison. But Victor was already sick. He died in prison in 1947 at age 57. He never revealed where he hid the Eiffel Tower money—some say it’s still hidden somewhere in Paris. Today, over 7 million people visit the Eiffel Tower every year. None of them know they’re looking at the monument that was “sold” to scrap metal dealers twice. Victor’s scam is now studied by the FBI, taught in business schools, and analyzed by psychologists. His techniques defined modern fraud prevention. The Eiffel Tower scam remains the greatest con in history—because Victor didn’t just fool eight men. He fooled an entire nation KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED • How did Victor Lustig sell the Eiffel Tower? • Who were the victims who bought it? • Why didn’t they report the crime to police? • How did Victor con Al Capone? • How did the FBI finally catch him? • What happened to the Eiffel Tower money? • Is this story actually true? • How is Victor Lustig studied today? • What lessons do we learn from this scam? SOURCES & RESEARCH This documentary is based on: • FBI case files on Victor Lustig (1934-1947) • French police records from 1925 scam investigation • “The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower” by James F. Johnson • Historical newspaper accounts from Le Figaro and Le Matin • Court transcripts from Victor’s 1935 trial • Interviews with fraud historians and FBI experts • Eiffel Tower historical archives and maintenance records ABOUT THIS CHANNEL We create in-depth documentary content about history’s greatest mysteries, unsolved cases, and incredible true stories. Every video is meticulously researched and presented with cinematic visuals. Subscribe for weekly documentary deep-dives Like if you learned something new Comment your theory: Could someone pull this off today? #VictorLustig #EiffelTower #TrueCrime #ConArtist #Paris #1920s #Documentary #Fraud #AlCapone #FBI #History #Mystery #Scam #France #CriminalMind DISCLAIMER This video is for educational and historical purposes. Victor Lustig’s criminal activities are documented historical events. This content does not glorify crime but examines an extraordinary story of deception and human psychology. BUSINESS INQUIRIES marvinyt090@gmail.com