Victor Lustig He was a false aristocrat, an international fraudster, a money forger and he even managed to deceive Al Capone. Ended up on Alcatraz.
The question seems absurd: who would agree to buy the Eiffel Tower from a stranger? Today, the answer seems evident. But in Paris, in the 1920s, a man managed to make this idea plausible enough to fool a scrap metal manufacturer.
This man was called Victor Lustig — although this was just one of the many names he used throughout his life — and became known as one of the most daring con artists of the 20th century.
Victor Lustig, mugshot, em 1931
His fame is mainly based on an almost cinematic fraud: the attempt to sell the Eiffel Tower for scrap. But the story of his life goes far beyond this episode, as . He was false aristocrat, international fraudster, money forger and even managed to fool Al Caponeone of the most feared criminals in the United States.
Lustig presented himself as a count, cultivated elegant manners and dressed with extreme care. The image helped to make credible the character he had invented for himself: an aristocrat of Austro-Hungarian origin, cultured, cosmopolitan and accustomed to circles of power.
In reality, according to prison documents known later, he was born in 1890 into a poor family and began stealing early to survive. Throughout his life, he used dozens of false identities and several passports, transforming his own biography into a working tool.
Sale of the Eiffel Tower (part 1)
After the death of Gustave Eiffel, in 1923, the structure lost its main defender. Maintenance was expensive, corrosion required successive layers of paint and the press discussed the monument’s costs. Lustig realized there was an opportunity there. If he could convince some businessmen that the French State wanted to dismantle the tower, he could sell them its 7,300 tons of iron.
With forged documents and meticulous staging, he summoned representatives from the metallurgical and scrap industry to a meeting at the Hôtel de Crillon, in Paris. He introduced himself as a senior official from the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs and explained that the Government intended to keep the plan secret to avoid public controversy. The false bidding seemed, therefore, reserved for discreet and well-connected businessmen.
The victim was André Poissona scrap dealer who Lustig identified as insecure and desirous of social affirmation. Poisson paid 70,000 francs at the time for the alleged purchase of the structure and even handed over an additional bribe to the false official. With money in handLustig fled to Austria.
The scandal never broke: embarrassed at having been deceived, Poisson preferred not to press charges.
Sell from the Eiffel Tower (part 2) and Al Capone
The success gave Lustig confidence to try to repeat the fraud. In 1925, he returned to Paris with the same plan, but one of the potential buyers became suspicious and alerted the authorities. Lustig left France and settled in the United States, where he continued carrying out scams.
Among the most famous episodes is the meeting with Al Capone. Lustig convinced the mob boss to give him $50,000 for a fake real estate deal. He kept the money for two months and then returned it, saying that the plan had failed and that his honor did not allow him to rob Capone. Impressed, the gangster rewarded him with 5000 dollars. That was exactly Lustig’s goal.
The fraudster’s downfall came in 1935, after a complaint made by his lover, motivated by jealousy.. Authorities uncovered a sophisticated banknote counterfeiting network so convincing that the money came to be known as “Lustig money”. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, an increased sentence for an escape attempt, and ended up in Alcatraz, where he died in 1947.
