The -greater fool- theory of economics states that it-s possible to make money by buying paper (securities), whether overvalued or not, and later, selling it at a profit because there will always be an even greater fool willing to pay the higher price. Many described in this book profited by peddling such worthless junk to foolish investors. But for some people-Bernie Madoff, Norman Hsu, Sholam Weiss, and -Crazie Eddie- Antar, aka the -Darth Vader of Capitalism--overvalued securities were not enough. Outright fraud was their way of life. History of Greed is the compelling inside story of the names you know-Charles Ponzi, Baron Rothschild, Lou Pearlman-and the names you don-t-Isaac Le Maire, the world-s first -naked- short-seller. It-s also our story-why we ignore the lessons of the past and fall prey, most every time, to the promise of easy money.
For thousands of years, alchemists unsuccessfully tried to turn worthless base metals into gold. Where science failed at tur
