4.6 • 29.8K Ratings
🗓️ 21 January 2023
⏱️ 23 minutes
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0:00.0 | This is Planet Money from NPR. |
0:06.6 | Most of us in this world are destined to be forgotten. |
0:10.0 | I know it's sad, but it's true. |
0:12.2 | A lucky few will land in the history books, few are still might get our names on something. |
0:17.4 | A road sign, a stadium, maybe even get a statue or a plaque. |
0:22.0 | Probably the least likely scenario is to become so famous or infamous that our names will |
0:26.8 | live on in language. |
0:29.3 | Jerry Mander, the word, named after Elbridge Gary, 19th century governor of Massachusetts, |
0:35.0 | and early pioneer of the Gary Mander. |
0:38.4 | Saxophone, named after its inventor, Adolfaisex. |
0:42.7 | And then there's the Ponzi, the Ponzi scheme, named after Charles Ponzi. |
0:50.7 | A Ponzi scheme is an investment opportunity that's more of a con. |
0:55.4 | The way it works is you have to use or steal money from newer investors to pay back the |
1:01.3 | earlier ones. |
1:02.8 | They happen all the time these days. |
1:05.6 | But I'm just going to come out and say it, most of the time they're amateur hour, compared |
1:09.8 | to the one pulled off by Charles Ponzi. |
1:12.3 | An Italian immigrant living in Boston who pulled off his scheme for a brief seven months |
1:17.6 | about a hundred years ago. |
1:19.5 | He wasn't first, he wouldn't be the biggest, but after you hear his story, you'll get |
1:23.9 | it. |
1:24.9 | He's allowed to live on forever in infamy. |
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