America's premier business magazine gives a guided tour of the most colorful and consequential scandals in business history. A combination of news stories about the events as they happened and fresh takes from a contemporary perspective, the book tells the tales of 20 of outrageous swindles--and explains how the endless cycle of fraud and reform has helped to create the modern economy.

Greed, cupidity, corruption, and a kind of gluttony so outrageous that it's laughable have always been part of business. Consider, for example, the case of the Swedish match king. At one time, Ivar Kreuger manufactured more than half of the world's matches, with monopolies in 16 countries. He had so much money that he was a reliable lender to many countries, becoming known as the "savior of Europe" for his willingness to give aid to banks crippled by World War I. At the time of the 1929 market crash, his was the most widely held stock in the world. But when he killed himself three years later, the whole thing went up in flames. The company's debts exceeded those of the entire Swedish government, as it was based on a gigantic pyramid scheme.

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Fortune: Secrets of Greatness