Charles Ponzi
Charles Ponzi (/ˈpɒnzi/, Italian: [ˈpontsi]; born Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi; March 3, 1882 – January 15, 1949) was an Italian swindler and con artist who operated in the U.S. and Canada. His aliases included Charles Ponci, Carlo, and Charles P. Bianchi.
Charles Ponzi | |
|---|---|
 Ponzi c. 1920 | |
| Born | Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi March 3, 1882 |
| Died | January 15, 1949 (aged 66) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Other names | Carlo and Charles P. Bianchi |
| Occupation | Financier, confidence trickster |
| Known for | Ponzi scheme |
| Spouse | Rose Gnecco
(m. 1918; div. 1937) |
| Motive | Financial gain |
| Criminal charge | Forgery (Canada), mail fraud (U.S. federal), larceny (state) |
| Penalty | 3 years in Canada 1908–1911; 5 years U.S. federal (served 3+1⁄2 years before facing state charge) 1920–1922; 9 years state 1927–1934; deportation in 1934 |
Born and raised in Italy, he became known in the early 1920s as a swindler in North America for his money-making scheme. He promised clients a 50% profit within 45 days or 100% profit within 90 days, by buying discounted postal reply coupons in other countries and redeeming them at face value in the U.S. as a form of arbitrage. In reality, Ponzi was paying earlier investors using the investments of later investors. While this type of fraudulent investment scheme was not invented by Ponzi, it became so identified with him that it now is referred to as a "Ponzi scheme". His scheme ran for over a year before it collapsed, costing his "investors" $20 million.
Ponzi may have been inspired by the scheme of William F. Miller (also known as "520% Miller"), a Brooklyn bookkeeper who in 1899 used a similar deception to take in $1 million (approximately $35 million in 2022).
