When we talk about someone who sold the Eiffel Tower twice, we are faced with an unparalleled story in the world of fraud. This is the story of Victor Lustig, an Austrian born in 1890, who stood out for his charm and sharp intellect, making him one of history's most brilliant con artists. He orchestrated unbelievable scams that tricked even the sharpest minds into falling into his trap.

How Did He Sell the Eiffel Tower?

In 1925, Paris was amid a financial crisis related to the "Eiffel Tower," as maintenance costs were rising dramatically, and there were rumors about the possibility of dismantling it and selling it as scrap metal. This was when Lustig saw his golden opportunity.

He impersonated a high-ranking government official, created fake official documents bearing the French government’s seal, and called a group of prominent scrap metal dealers to a secret meeting in a luxury hotel in Paris. He told them that the government was planning to secretly sell the "Eiffel Tower" due to high maintenance costs.

Eventually, a dealer named André Boisson fell into the trap and paid about one hundred thousand francs for the "right to dismantle the tower." After receiving the money, Lustig quickly fled to Austria before Boisson realized he had been the victim of a major scam.

The Second Attempt to Sell:

Some time later, Lustig returned to Paris and executed the same plan with a new group of dealers. But this time, one of the dealers reported him to the police, and Lustig was forced to flee before he could sell the tower for the second time.

Al Capone, the Victim:

The Eiffel Tower was not Lustig’s only victim. He was a master of large-scale deception, and one of his most famous victims was the gangster Al Capone. Lustig managed to convince Capone to invest $50,000 in a fictional project, then returned the money under the pretense that the deal had failed. This helped him gain Capone’s trust, only to later scam him out of $200,000.

The End of His Adventures:

Lustig’s adventures ended in 1935 when he was arrested in the United States, where he was imprisoned until his death in 1947. However, his name remains etched in history as one of the smartest con artists of all time.