CW 457 – Mitchell Zuckoff – How To Spot Bad Deals & The Original Ponzi Scheme with Author & Professor at Boston University

Jason Hartman is extremely excited about the upcoming Meet the Masters event and hopes you'll be able to join him this year. In his Creating Wealth intro, he talks about Houston, oil prices, the negatives of investing in North Dakota, and looking out for the crooks that just want to steal your money.    Our Creating Wealth guest today is Mitchell Zuckoff. He is the author of 7 books and a professor at the Boston University. He was also a reporter for 20 years and is originally a New York native. He talks to Jason about the Ponzi scheme, how to spot a bad deal, Bernie Madoff, and more in today's episode.    Key Takeaways: 3:10 – There's a lot of scams out there, don't invest in someone who's a crook, an idiot, or untrustworthy.  6:25 – Jason learned that a diamond can slow down the speed of light.  10:25 – Jason is excited for the Meet the Masters conference. This upcoming one would be the 16th Meet the Masters event.  12:10 – Oil prices are down and experts will be talking about that at the Meet the Masters conference.  16:00 – Jason feels that North Dakota is not a stable economy for real estate investing just yet.  18:10 – Mitchell talks about the book he wrote about Charles Ponzi.  25:10 – How did Charles Ponzi start the Ponzi scheme? Mitchell explains.  29:20 – Based on Charles Ponzi's actions, he didn't consider himself a con man.  32:10 -  Ponzi's business, or scheme, grew from word of mouth.  35:50 – If a deal sounds too good to be true, be sure to do a background check before you invest any money.  39:10 – Do people really fall for those Nigerian email scams? Mitchell says yes.    42:15 – The schemers are always trying to stay one step ahead. Mentioned In This Episode:   http://www.mitchellzuckoff.com