9. Victor Lustig — The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower
In 1925, Victor Lustig, a charismatic con artist, exploited rumors about the Eiffel Tower’s deteriorating condition and maintenance costs. Posing as a French government official, he invited scrap metal dealers to a confidential meeting at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris. There, he convinced them that the government intended to sell the tower for scrap, leading to a bidding war. Lustig successfully sold the monument to André Poisson, who, embarrassed by the scam, never reported it to authorities. Lustig repeated the con a year later but fled to the United States when the scheme was exposed. (smithsonianmag.com)
