A closer look
Charles Ponzi originated his infamous investment fraud scheme in 1920 by systematically exploiting international reply coupons for postage stamps. He boldly promised his investors a fifty percent return in just forty-five days, which absolutely should have been the first massive red flag for anyone with a functioning brain stem. Instead, thousands of people practically shoved their entire life savings into his tailored pockets, funding his lavish lifestyle while he literally bought zero actual stamps. Modern financial influencers and venture capital scammers owe their entire parasitic careers to this dapper fraudster who figured out that if you sound confident enough, people will gladly let you rob them blind. The modern economy is essentially just millions of people desperately hoping to get in on the ground floor of the next giant scam before it collapses
