In May 1925, an international criminal who used the name Count Victor Lustig completed a complex deception by "selling" the Eiffel Tower for scrap metal. The man presented himself as a high ranking official of the government. He executed a plan that did not use physical strength or complex machines, but he relied on the way he influenced others, his fake documents and his knowledge of people's weaknesses. The operation showed how a desire for status, a drive for success and a strong fear of public embarrassment caused his victim to lose a large amount of money and say nothing.
The financial conditions in Paris after the First World War helped hide this unusual crime. The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair, but it was built to stay in place for only twenty years.
By the middle of the 1920s, the metal structure was in a state of decay. It had a thick layer of rust, and it required very high payments to paint its thousands of tons of wrought iron.
Lustig saw a chance for his plan after he read a newspaper report that listed the high costs of the tower. It also mentioned the arguments that residents had about whether the tower should remain. Those facts gave him a believable situation. His idea was that the City of Paris owned the tower and intended to take it apart for scrap metal in secret.
In the 1910s the French state ensured that the Eiffel Tower would remain standing for a long time because the structure functioned as a transmitter for radio signals. The French public did not know about this strategic importance.
The Forged Invitation
To begin his plan, Lustig manufactured documents using a false seal of the French Ministry of Posts & Telegraphs. He used those papers to present himself as the Deputy Director General of the ministry and then delivered private letters to a small group of scrap metal dealers in Paris. In the invitations, he asked the businessmen to attend a meeting at the Hôtel de Crillon.
The hotel is a large building known for its luxury and history. He chose this location so that the merchants would believe he possessed official government power.
At the meeting Lustig told the businessmen that the government was unable to pay for the maintenance of the tower. He stated that officials intended to sell the iron structure for scrap, but he warned the attendees that they must keep the plan secret so that the residents of the city would not protest. He also told the men that he invited them specifically because they were "honest businessmen". As the official in charge, he claimed he would choose which merchant would win the contract.
A Bribe for the Eiffel Tower
The driver took the scrap metal merchants in a limousine to the structure for a private viewing. Lustig examined the group and picked André Poisson as his target. As a merchant from a rural province, André Poisson wanted to obtain a contract for a famous monument to improve his standing among business owners in Paris. Lustig noticed that André Poisson felt uncertain about his social status and used this vulnerability.
He organized a confidential discussion where he described himself as a dishonest employee of the state and said his public office did not pay enough for his expensive personal habits. In turn, to become one of the most successful commercial leaders, André Poisson decided to pay a bribe to make sure he received the deed.
The request for a secret commission made André Poisson feel comfortable rather than suspicious. In 1920s France, civil servants who requested bribes were common and expected, but a fraudster who offered a national landmark for sale was something the merchant could never imagine. André Poisson gave a large sum of his own money as a bribe in addition to the cost of the iron. The final transaction was approximately 70 000 francs.
Lustig filled a suitcase with currency and he traveled across the border to Austria immediately. He stayed in an expensive hotel in Vienna and waited for journalists to report the event. The media did not publish any news about the deception as time passed, which surprised him because he expected a large public reaction.
Meanwhile, Poisson felt ashamed because he trusted Lustig too easily. He feared that the public would see him as foolish and that his business partners would no longer respect him. Because of those fears, he did not tell the police officers about the crime and he did not mention the event to other scrap metal merchants.
The Second Sale?
The silence of the victim meant that Lustig did not face legal consequences. He felt bold and he traveled back to Paris during the same year to repeat the scheme. With new forged papers, he asked a different group of scrap metal dealers to attend a private meeting for bids, but records do not agree on the outcome of this second attempt.
Some historians state that he received money for the Eiffel Tower again. In contrast other writers state that one dealer felt doubtful and notified the police officers. In that version, Lustig escaped before he finished the transaction. The police officers pursued him closely but he traveled to the United States before they could put him in a jail cell.
Lustig's criminal activities continued in the United States. He planned complex illegal financial schemes and started a large counterfeiting operation. On May 10, 1935, the police arrested him in New York, and he was charged with producing fake money and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
He then lived his remaining years within the federal correctional system. Pneumonia caused his death on March 11, 1947, at the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.
His actions are remembered because he deceived others with such boldness. His famous "sale" of the Eiffel Tower is a significant example of how he manipulated the people around him. It shows that a deceptive exterior and an awareness of people's egos are effective. With those methods he made a false statement that seemed impossible appear credible to observers.