#348 The Financial Genius Behind A Century of Wall Street Scandals: Ivar Kreuger
Founders
The Rise and Fall of Ivar Kreuger
This chapter explores the life of Ivar Kreuger, a controversial financial figure known for his charm and deception. It chronicles his ascent to wealth through monopolizing the match industry, juxtaposed with the intricate fraud that led to his downfall. The narrative highlights the psychological and ethical implications of his business tactics, showcasing the tragic consequences of ambition unchecked by integrity.
What I learned from reading The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals by Frank Partnoy.
----
Relationships run the world: Build relationships at Founders events
----
Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders
You can read, reread, and search all my notes and highlights from every book I've ever read for the podcast.
You can also ask SAGE any question and SAGE will read all my notes, highlights, and every transcript from every episode for you.
A few questions I've asked SAGE recently:
What are the most important leadership lessons from history's greatest entrepreneurs?
Can you give me a summary of Warren Buffett's best ideas? (Substitute any founder covered on the podcast and you'll get a comprehensive and easy to read summary of their ideas)
How did Edwin Land find new employees to hire? Any unusual sources to find talent?
What are some strategies that Cornelius Vanderbilt used against his competitors?
Get access to Founders Notes here.
----
Make yourself easy to interface with: Scribe helps entrepreneurs, consultants, executives, and other professionals publish a book about their specific knowledge.
Mention you heard about Scribe on Founders and they will give you these discounts:
Guided Author - $1,000 off
Scribe Professional - $1,000 off
Scribe Elite Ghostwriting - $3,000 off
----
Vesto helps you see all of your company's financial accounts in one view. Connect and control all of your business accounts from one dashboard. Tell Ben (the founder of Vesto) that David sent you and you will get $500 off.
----
Join my personal email list if you want me to email you my top ten highlights from every book I read
----
Buy a super comfortable Founders sweatshirt (or hat) here !
----
Episode Outline:
1. Ivar was charismatic. His charisma was not natural. Ivar spent hours every day just preparing to talk. He practiced his lines for hours like great actors do.
2. Ivar’s first pitch was simple, easy to understand, and legitimate: By investing in Swedish Match, Americans could earn profits from a monopoly abroad.
3. Joseph Duveen noticed that Europe had plenty of art and America had plenty of money, and his entire astonishing career was the product of that simple observation. — The Days of Duveen by S.N. Behrman. (Founders #339 Joseph Duveen: Robber Baron Art Dealer)
4. Ivar studied Rockefeller and Carnegie: Ivar's plan was to limit competition and increase profits by securing a monopoly on match sales throughout the world, mimicking the nineteenth century oil, sugar, and steel trusts.
5. When investors were manic, they would purchase just about anything. But during the panic that inevitably followed mania, the opposite was true. No one would buy.
6. The problem isn’t getting rich. The problem is staying sane. — Charlie Munger
7. Ivar understood human psychology. If something is limited and hard to get to that increases desire. This works for both products (like a Ferrari) and people (celebrities). Ivar was becoming a business celebrity.
8. I’ve never believed in risking what my family and friends have and need in order to pursue what they don't have and don't need. — The Essays of Warren Buffett by Warren Buffett and Lawrence Cunningham. (Founders #227)
9. Great ideas are simple ideas: Ivar hooked Durant with his simple, brilliant idea: government loans in exchange for match monopolies.
10. Ivar wrote to his parents, "I cannot believe that I am intended to spend my life making money for second-rate people. I shall bring American methods back home. Wait and see - I shall do great things. I'm bursting with ideas. I am only wondering which to carry out first."
11. Ivar’s network of companies was far too complex for anyone to understand: It was like a corporate family tree from hell, and it extended into obscurity.
12. “Victory in our industry is spelled survival.” —Steve Jobs
13. Ivar's financial statements were sloppy and incomplete. Yet investors nevertheless clamored to buy his securities.
14. As more cash flowed in the questions went away. This is why Ponzi like schemes can last so long. People don’t want to believe. They don’t want the cash to stop.
15. A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market by Ed Thorp. (Founders #222)
16. A summary of Charlie Munger on incentives:
1. We all underestimate the power of incentives.
2. Never, ever think about anything else before the power of incentives.
3. The most important rule: get the incentives right.
17. This is nuts! Fake phones and hired actors!
Next to the desk was a table with three telephones. The middle phone was a dummy, a non-working phone that Ivar could cause to ring by stepping on a button under the desk. That button was a way to speed the exit of talkative visitors who were staying too long. Ivar also used the middle phone to impress his supporters. When Percy Rockefeller visited Ivar pretended to receive calls from various European government officials, including Mussolini and Stalin. That evening, Ivar threw a lavish party and introduced Rockefeller to numerous "ambassadors" from various countries, who actually were movie extras he had hired for the night.
----
Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes
----
“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
----
Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here.
----
“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
