The machinator is who? 5 Great Machinators of the 20th Century

Who is such a great schemer? This is an adventurer, a liar and a rascal. And why is it great? Because talented, because to hold a brilliant scam is not easier than playing virtuoso on a musical instrument. Your attention is offered a number of great scammers, which cause genuine interest. What they did, of course, is bad, but how they did it, it's brilliant.

Charming scam

Despite the fact that scammers are criminals, the most talented of them still feel if not respect, then at least minimal sympathy. Such attractive negative characters include the great combinator Ostap Bender, a fictional hero. It is a prototype of the real existent Odessite - Osip Benjaminovich Shore. The future great schemer graduates from the local gymnasium and decides to continue his studies in the Northern capital, but it so happened that the student who had failed, without a penny in his pocket, had to return to his homeland.

Here he began his career as an adventurer: he invented his profession and successfully took a job. Shore managed to visit a grandmaster, an artist, a fire inspector and not only. Refining his skills, Osip has already taken on tasks more difficult. One day he even gave a lecture on the breeding of a new breed of bald chickens, and not just for that, but as an eminent professor! But, as they say, how much a string does not curl, all the same the end will be. As a result, Shora was caught and enlisted to cooperate with law enforcement agencies. In 1922, he moved to Moscow and became acquainted with Valentin Kataev, thanks to which the whole world learned the resourceful Ostap Bender, the great adventurer and schemer.

Millionaire's daughter

As history has shown, great rascals can be not only men. This is the legendary Sonka - the Golden Hand, and the Moscow adventurer Olga von Stein, and the American Elizabeth Bigley. As for the latter, the life of this lady was short-lived, but bright. She masterfully played her roles, changed names like gloves and blew not one million foreign dollars into the wind.

At 22, she was caught on a fake check, so she pretended to be insane, and she was released before the due date. Feeling the fragrance of money, Elizabeth could no longer stop. She moves from Canada to the American state of Cleveland and tries herself as a fortuneteller, has time to work as a manager of the women's boarding house, which was a public house. One of the guests falls in love with her and marries. But is this the reason to part with your favorite business?

Becoming a secular lioness, she launched a rumor about a fictitious relationship with the millionaire Andrew Carnegie and forged a promissory note as much as two million dollars. The news spread all over the world instantly, and all the banks vied with their rich heiress. For 8 years she was the daughter of a millionaire and bathed in luxury. In the end, the scam was uncovered, and Elizabeth was in the dock. At the meeting came and unsuspecting "father" adventurer - Andrew Carnegie, who was very interested in looking at his "cousin".

Seller of the Eiffel Tower

The machinator is a person who is able to sell snow to the Eskimo and the sea to the sailor. One of the most interesting and paradoxical cases of the 20th century was the sale of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, twice. Who is this great schemer? It was Victor Lustig, who, like other virtuoso scammers, started his business from his youth. So, at the age of 20 he managed to sell a fake machine for printing counterfeit money. Having moved to America in 1920, he appropriated himself a Count's title, allegedly spoke 5 languages, was able to properly lead and submit himself to the community, and as a result, all the doors were open to him. It is rumored that Lustig even managed to hold Al Capone himself.

The most interesting fraud was the sale of the most famous tower in Paris. Well prepared, forging the necessary documents and removing the luxury hotel room, Victor announced a tender for a huge purchase of scrap metal and skillfully brainwashed all its participants. The winner laid out a lot of money for the purchase of the tower, and when the fraud was uncovered, the swindler was no longer in the city. This deal inspired Lustig so much that he decided to repeat the fraud, but this time he could not avoid punishment. No matter how talented the machinator is, it is primarily a criminal who sooner or later finds himself in prison. So it happened. In the end, Victor was in a jail called Alcatraz.

Great impostor

An interesting fraudster was Ferdinand Demara, who was nicknamed "the great impostor". Like a professional actor, he tried on such professions as engineer-builder, deputy sheriff, chief of the prison. Thanks to the natural talents of reincarnation, he managed to visit a monk, a psychologist, a lawyer, a teacher, a scientist.

His true skill was manifested in the adventure in which he played a doctor, and not just a therapist, but an experienced surgeon. What is most striking, he managed to conduct a number of successful operations, saving lives of sailors on a military ship. After the exposure, the ship's commander did not even want to sue the impostor in court, but let him go home with peace.

Elusive

Probably the most outstanding schemer is Frank Abignale, who became a real celebrity after the release of the film "Catch Me If You Can." Even before his adulthood, the young rascal earned his living by his intelligence, cashed in forged checks. Later he was engaged in larger monetary frauds.

It was a really elusive schemer who was always one step ahead. Frank easily changed names and documents. Surprisingly, he managed to get a job as a second pilot of civil aviation, to work as a doctor and a lawyer. He managed to inherit in twelve countries and was put on the international wanted list. As a result, caught in France, he was sent to the United States and was to be deprived of freedom for as long as 12 years. But thanks to cooperation with the FBI, he was released ahead of schedule.

This rarely happens, but it's a good story. The criminal past did not prevent him from becoming a happy family man, having a wonderful house, a profitable business and a legally earned fortune. After the conclusion, Frank created a program to protect against fraud for banks. He managed to direct his criminal energy into a peaceful channel, nothing can be done about it, a talented person is talented in everything!

Finally

So, the "machinator", according to Ozhegov's dictionary, is a person who is engaged in frauds, fraudulent activities, the range of which is by no means revealed in this article. The word has many synonyms: tucked in, the dodger, the tycoon, the stunt man, the adventurer and even the rascal. All these words apply to all the great deceivers, of which we spoke in the article.