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It was a time when anything seemed possible–instant wealth, glittering fame, fabulous luxury–and for a run of magical weeks in the spring and summer of 1920, Charles Ponzi made it all come true. Promising to double investors’ money in three months, the dapper, charming Ponzi raised the “rob Peter to pay Paul” scam to an art form and raked in millions at his office in downtown Boston. Ponzi’s Scheme is the amazing true story of the irresistible scoundrel who launched the most successful scheme of financial alchemy in modern history–and uttered the first roar of the Roaring Twenties.
Ponzi may have been a charlatan, but he was also a wonderfully likable man. His intentions were noble, his manners impeccable, his sales pitch enchanting. Born to a genteel Italian family, he immigrated to the United States with big dreams but no money. Only after he became hopelessly enamored of a stenographer named Rose Gnecco and persuaded her to marry him did Ponzi light on the means to make his dreams come true. His true motive was not greed but love.
With rich narrative skill, Mitchell Zuckoff conjures up the feverish atmosphere of Boston during the weeks when Ponzi’s bubble grew bigger and bigger. At the peak of his success, Ponzi was taking in more than $2 million a week. And then his house of cards came crashing down–thanks in large part to the relentless investigative reporting of Richard Grozier’s Boston Post.
In Zuckoff's hands, Ponzi is no mere swindler; instead he is appealing and magnetic, a colorful and poignant figure, someone who struggled his whole life to attain great wealth and who sincerely believed–to the very end–that he could have made good on his investment promises if only he’d had enough time. Ponzi is a classic American tale of immigrant life and the dream of success, and the unexpectedly moving story of a man who–for a fleeting, illusory moment–attained it all.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
March 8, 2005 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780739353868
- File size: 288102 KB
- Duration: 10:00:12
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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This interesting, albeit undistinguished, production relates the life and times of dapper bunco artist Charles (Carlo) Ponzi, who in the nineteenth century invented the investment swindle that now bears his name. Grover Gardner does his wonted exemplary job with this fare. His tone is at once light--as befits the author's urbane and oft humorous prose--and detached--apropos of a biography of one who brought devastation down upon his many victims. Gardner's crisp timbre and impeccable diction are, as usual, a pleasure. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine -
January 24, 2005
Before Charles Ponzi (1882–1949) sailed from Italy to the shores of America in 1903, his father assured him that the streets were really paved with gold—and that Ponzi would be able to get a piece. As journalist Zuckoff observes in this engaging and fast-paced biography, Ponzi learned as soon as he disembarked that though the streets were often cobblestone, he could still make a fortune in a culture caught in the throes of the Gilded Age. Zuckoff deftly chronicles Ponzi's mercurial rise and fall as he conjured up one get-rich-quick scheme after another. Charming, gregarious and popular, Ponzi devised and carried out the scheme that carries his name in 1920 in the open (and with a brief period of approval from Boston's newspapers and financial sector). Many investors did indeed double their investments, as Ponzi would use money of new investors to pay old investors, and Ponzi himself became a millionaire. Eventually, Zuckoff shows, the Boston Post
uncovered this "robbing Peter to pay Paul" system (as it was then known), and Ponzi's life unraveled. Zuckoff provides not only a definitive portrait of Ponzi's life but also insights into immigrant life and the social world of early 20th-century Boston. -
June 15, 2006
Ponzis Scheme consists of three fascinating parallel stories. Charles Ponzi was a dapper, charismatic, debonair Italian immigrant who amassed $15 million by promising investors a 50 percent return on their money in 45 days. His rob Peter to pay Paul scam was exposed by theBoston Post in a Pulitzer Prizewinning report. The rise of thePost and its new second-generation editor, Richard Grozier, runs parallel to Ponzis rise and fall. The third story is the love and devotion of Ponzi and his loyal wife, Rose. Grover Gardner reads very well; his voice portrays both Ponzis confident bravado and Roses modest demeanor. Recommended for all audio collections.Ilka Gordon, Park Synagogue Lib., Pepper Pike, OHCopyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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A man whose life may have served as a playbook for the corporate scam artists of today certainly trumped them all in style, guile, and fashion. Ponzi's rags-to-riches climb from dissipated immigrant with a privileged background to stretches in jail for forgery and swindling to his ultimate position as America's most famous wealthy schemer in 1920 is chronicled most entertainingly. David Birney imparts a soft Italian accent and oozing charm to his Ponzi impression while delivering the rest of text with an understated style that keeps the focus on the story, well written as it is. A great listen, not only for its focus on history, but for Birney's smooth chianti of a voice. D.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
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