The Man who Sold the Eiffel Tower... Twice!

In 1925, upkeep on the Eiffel Tower was getting expensive, and the newspapers were talking about getting rid of it. One of these newspapers made its way into the hands of the con artist who would go on to outsmart Al Capone, named Victor Lustig. Lustig reaches out to different steel companies and tells them he’s a government employee tasked with auctioning off the Eiffel Tower for scrap, but of course it’s all very hush hush because it might be controversial and he doesn’t want the news to get without the right PR. Everyone places their bids, but Lustig doesn’t settle for the highest bid... he looks for who’s the best mark. He convinces him that he can get the contract with a bribe, then takes the bribe and skips town. The result? The briber is too ashamed to admit he was duped, and still no one’s ever heard of the deal to sell the Eiffel Tower. So Lustig sells it, a second time. Except one of these guys was smarter and called the cops.