In the early 1920s, Victor Lustig, a notorious con artist, arrived in Paris. While reading a newspaper, he came across an article discussing the problems the city was facing with the maintenance of the Eiffel Tower. The tower, originally intended as a temporary structure, was becoming increasingly expensive to maintain and was not originally designed to be a permanent part of Paris's skyline.
Lustig saw an opportunity for a remarkable scam. He forged government credentials and invited a group of scrap metal dealers to a confidential meeting. In this meeting, he explained that the city could no longer afford to maintain the Eiffel Tower and that it was going to be dismantled. Lustig indicated that the metal from the tower would be sold to the highest bidder.
Believing they were participating in a legitimate government tender, the scrap dealers entered into a bidding war. Eventually, one dealer, André Poisson, was convinced by Lustig to pay a handsome amount for the rights to dismantle and take ownership of the metal. Convinced of the legitimacy of the deal due to Lustig's charm and forged documents, Poisson handed over a significant amount of money.
After receiving the money, Lustig quickly left Paris. To his surprise, Poisson was so embarrassed by being duped that he chose not to go to the police, and Lustig got away with the scam. Emboldened by his success, Lustig even returned to Paris to try the scam a second time, but this time, suspicions were raised, and he had to flee.
The Aftermath
Victor Lustig's audacious scam went down in history as one of the most incredible con jobs. His story is often cited as a prime example of confidence trickery at its most daring. The Eiffel Tower, of course, was never sold and remains one of the most iconic landmarks in the world.
This story, while showcasing a darker side of human nature, also underlines the iconic status of the Eiffel Tower in the public imagination, so much so that even the idea of its sale was plausible to those caught up in Lustig's elaborate deception.