Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals
Starred review from March 9, 2009
Partnoy (F.I.A.S.C.O.
) delivers a thrilling account of the grandfather of all Ponzi and Madoff schemes—Ivar Kreuger (1880–1932), who made his fortune in the 1920s by raising money from American investors to lend to European governments in exchange for match monopolies. Kreuger was creating more than matches, it turned out; the “master of investor psychology” created “the forerunners of today's derivatives” and techniques that are still used by hedge funds and investment banks. Shortly after his suicide in 1932, his schemes finally unraveled. The “Kreuger crash” bankrupted millions and led to the securities laws of 1933 and 1934—a “political reaction to a single event and to one man.” Partnoy achieves a nuanced portrait of the charismatic and corrupt financial genius whose advice was sought by Herbert Hoover and other heads of state. A fascinating depiction of a man and his era (Greta Garbo makes memorable cameos), this book is a snapshot of a time all too familiar now: a speculative real estate bubble, unbridled consumer spending, investors buying derivatives based on sketchy information and a Wall Street operating by its own rules.
April 1, 2009
Ivar Kreuger, known to aficionados of fraud cases as"the Match King," flourished 80 years ago. As this latest biography shows, his complex schemes could have occurred just yesterday—or might again tomorrow.
Partnoy (Law/Univ. of San Diego; Infectious Greed: How Deceit and Risk Corrupted the Financial Markets, 2003, etc.) traces the fabulous rise and spectacular fall of the financier. Once counted among the wealthiest men on earth, Kreuger charmed royalty, tycoons and reporters, as well as Greta Garbo and Herbert Hoover. Along with dubious secret enterprises, he ran some legitimate businesses, including mining, construction and the manufacture of much of the world's matchsticks, financing sovereign governments in exchange for match monopolies. With fancy, arcane footwork, Krueger embellished real deals with shady transactions involving many of his dozens of affiliated firms. Money flowed from Wall Street to Stockholm, the Netherlands to Poland with scant documentation. He booked false gains to pay consistent 25 percent dividends. He kept real liabilities off balance sheets. Politicians, investors, brokers and bankers—with the notable exception of J.P. Morgan—were pleased to join the fun, no questions asked. It all unraveled in 1932 when Kreuger committed suicide and his transgressions were exposed. Estimates of losses vary, notes Partnoy, but millions worldwide were bankrupted. The author assiduously parses the data and pays special attention to the way Kreuger's American accountant was hustled. He also emphasizes that, despite clear deceit and a touch of forgery, the Match King wasn't entirely bad. After all, he made real money with a few real businesses.
A pertinent, timely tale of financial fraud and how it was maintained for so long.
(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
April 15, 2009
Ivar Kreuger, the best-liked crook that ever lived, was a Swede who operated on Wall Street during the 1920s, and his apparent suicide in 1932 coincided with the collapse of his businesses, bankrupting millions of investors. Partnoy, author and academic, conducted extensive research on Kreuger, who was considered the greatest business mind of his time. He cornered global markets in safety matches by raising money in the U.S. and loaning it to European governments in return for monopoly control of production and sales; he devised and sold complicated financial products and with questionable accounting methods structured a long list of murky deals. Partnoy explains that Kreuger, while a crook, was an attractive one who created substantial wealth, revived much of postWorld War I Europe, and generated real profits for investors before his empire collapsed. With the current arrest of Wall Streets Bernard Madoff for stealing more than $60 billion from investors, we are reminded that history repeats itself. This is a timely and excellent book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)