Studio 54: Tax Evasion! At the Disco | 189

Scamfluencers

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.1 • 7K Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the 1970s, Studio 54 stood as the ultimate temple of disco, decadence, and hedonism. Lifelong friends and business partners Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager curated a coveted guest list, deciding who slipped past the velvet rope into a celebrity-studded playground that attracted everyone from Cher to Truman Capote to Imelda Marcos. But while Steve and Ian were meticulous about crafting the perfect mix of the rich, famous and beautiful, they were far less disciplined with their finances. Skimming cash became routine – and a series of missteps eventually brought their seemingly neverending party crashing down.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Scam Fluencers fans, Sarah here.
0:02.8	If you love the drama, deception, and mind-blowing reveals,
0:06.5	Wondery Plus is your VIP ticket to more.
0:09.2	Add free episodes, early access to the juiciest scandals,
0:12.6	and deep dives you won't find anywhere else.
0:15.2	Get the full Scamfluencers experience.
0:17.5	Sign up today.
0:24.8	Thank you. experience, sign up today. Sarah, would you call yourself a club bunny?
0:30.1	Like, what's your idea of the perfect night out?
0:33.5	I mean, come on, you know me. I'm not a club bunny. I don't think I've ever been to a club.
0:39.0	It's called Growing Up Strict. But I do love a night out solely for people watching.
0:46.4	Like, I love going to something where there's a lot of different people around that I don't know.
0:50.9	As long as there's free food, I'm really happy. Give me a salmon tartar on a little
0:56.0	toastata, and I'm happy. Okay, wow, you're going really fancy at the club. They don't feed you
1:02.4	at the club? They generally don't feed you at the club. Okay, well, that's what if you get hungry,
1:06.6	then, you know, it's a whole other thing. The clubs, I want to go to have food. I'm in the VIP section. I'm sitting down. I'm overlooking everyone and someone's bringing me food. And you're eating chicken nuggets. Yes. Yeah. And I get to just look at people. Okay. I actually love your idea of a club and I do think we should talk angel investors. But, Sarah, today I need you to wear your shiniest sequin jumpsuit and your most
1:30.3	perilously high platform heels for the story I'm going to tell you.
1:34.5	All about Studio 54, how the party started and how it came to a screeching, scammy halt.
1:47.0	It's mid-December Halt. It's mid-December, 1978 in New York City, and Ian Traeger is on his way to work.
1:53.0	Ian is 32 years old, tall and stoic, with curly brown hair.
1:58.0	He kind of looks like Paul Simon or a young Michael Kane. Here, take a look.
2:03.2	Yeah, I totally see it. He has that 70s look. He's wearing the little turtleneck with the
	...

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