Charles Ponzi's scheme (plus a new scam)

Charles Ponzi was down on his luck. In 1919, the Italian immigrant had spent a decade and a half in the U.S. He was looking for a way to get rich and tried his hand at everything — including bookkeeping, sign painting, grocery clerk, dishwasher, and librarian. He caught a lucky break in August, when he received a letter from Europe. In the envelope was an International Reply Coupon, a clever way to prepay for international postage. Ponzi realized he might be able to use these coupons to make his fortune. All he needed was investors. What happened next made him a household name. This is the story of the man behind the eponymous Ponzi scheme — a tale of financial fraud that lives up to its linguistic legacy. (Note: The original version of this episode ran in 2023.) Read Planet Money: • Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life • Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletter • Our weekly Indicator round-up newsletter Follow Planet Money: • Instagram • TikTok • YouTube • Facebook Listen to more Planet Money: • Our short, daily podcast, The Indicator from Planet Money • Over 1,000 episodes in our archive on the NPR App Merch: • NPR Shop • The Planet Money game, Sell Me A Sasquatch Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. This episode was produced by James Sneed. It was fact checked by Sierra Juarez, mastered by Natasha Branch, and edited by Jess Jiang. It's based on the book Ponzi's Scheme, by Mitchell Zuckoff. NPR Privacy Policy