As a finance teacher, I can tell you that not only the Fed but any central bank is "technically" a ponzi scheme. Not only that. But the banking system and the monetary system they are the biggest player of, are much larger ponzi scheme too. If everybody tried to withdraw money from their bank at the same time there would be only a fraction of it... But the governments would be there to reassure depositors with their own ponzi scheme (public debt that will never be paid back, but rolled over and over...). And the central bank is there to help with its unlimited money creation (sometimes called money printing). But, contrary to the other ponzi schemes these are legal, and they work... and the worst that can happen is that either a sovereign default (more typical of emerging countries) or high inflation due to excessive money creation (typical of developed countries, but also some emerging countries)
It’s not a Ponzi scheme, Mr Finance Teacher. A Ponzi has a distinct definition, ColdFusion even states that in the beginning. A government issuing debt and creating money literally has nothing to do with a Ponzi scheme. You can like it or criticize it, but it’s not a Ponzi scheme.
@@tillitsdone I love looking back on the two times I actually got fired. Ok, 3 if you count the liquor store when I was 21. One of them kept changing customer orders for delivery at night that I had set up all day long per plan. Oh well, my fault I guess. The other company called me one month after canning me to tell me they didn't realize just how much work I did. But I already had another job. Oh yeah, the liquor store. I was drinking beer on the job with the rest of the crew. Guilty. However, I could have blown the whistle on the police officer that arrived at closing time to "keep us safe" at closing only to drink multiple shots of free liquor and drink beer and then drive drunk in his police cruiser home. I am so close to retirement that I relish my firings. Beautiful memories!!!!
My ex was constantly falling into these schemes and wasting so much time into “making moves”, embarrassing himself in front of his friends and family members, it was absolutely horrible . I feel sad still just remembering how completely sucked in he was into these types of “jobs”
@@coonjamalay Im gonna start the story by saying he NEVER made money, and was always in the red. He'd buy a sh*t ton of supplies (hoodies, Keto diet powders, programs, etc etc etc) he had to 'sign up at least 3 others' and his bosses were dudes that would rent luxury cars for their 'meet ups' in Chick-Fil-a parking lots to seem 'legit' and convincing. The guy was a total believer. Nothing wrong with that if its your own company, or a legit company, but these things were clearly scams.
@@ageorgiev89 Yeah... keyword 'SMART' and the reality is that most people are not , and those that are, prey on the financially illiterate and desperate people, usually giving their last money to try to get ahead. so its still 100% pathetic.
One thing that saves me from falling into any funny scheme is that I always ask myself, if the return is so good, why don't they just invest their own money? Why look for investors? Even if these people only have a few thousand or just a hundred thousand, to begin with, they can double their money every few weeks or months and their fund will grow bigger. Why are they so kind to offer strangers like me the opportunity to get such a big return.
Bcoz they have limited amount of money ? Why do people need to finance to buy an asset ? Bcoz they dont have the money. Same here... not so hard to understand.
@@peace4045 if you don't have the money to do an investment then you shouldn't get a loan or use the money stored away because you should never invest or gamble what you cannot afford to lose.
@@toomanyaccounts R u for real ? U know what it means as entreprenuer, investor, etc... ? Dont read my statement as a standalone... it was a reply to a comment. 🤦🤦🤦
I've noticed, most of the time these schemes have some really charismatic personality leading the charge 😂😂😂. On the side note, I do think crypto have similar traits to Ponzi schemes. The bigger fool maybe? Idk it just feels like it.
@@ccateni28 He lost out big time. He believed in the scheme and thought it would make him rich, which is where his passion came from. Wikipedia states that he invested into it and lost all his money too.
@@ICreatedU1 Not really, they ripped off their brand and stained it with the scam. If STC weren't preoccupied with being a charity, they probably would be suing the conspirators for defamation.
You missed to mention the lebanese government/banks ponzi where they promised depositors 15-20% returns in US dollars a currency they don’t control or can print. Eventually loans added up to more than 100 billion is US dollars and bank’s foreign currency was only 14 billion (alleged not confirmed) you should do a video about this topic!
Thank you for this... Bernie Madoff's case was so famous it overshadowed all the other times this type of thing had been perpetrated recently. American Greed on CNBC does a great job examining things that center around this type of financial scam.
As long as greed exists, Ponzi Schemes will evolve to new ways! Thanks for this video. It proves not to follow the crowd blindly. People can be mislead easily.
Question: Do these scumbags get to keep their offshore money after being released from prison? Getting merely 11 years doesn't feel like justice to me, especially if there's an early release for good behavior.
they tend not to since any access of the offshore money means it can be grabbed. so it just sits there until a number of years pass then the bank claims it legally
Prosecutions for massive fraud always include huge restitution requirements that can't be forgiven by declaring bankruptcy. By the time a Ponzi scheme collapses most of these people are broke anyway, and any additional money they have gets paid to the government. If they were hiding money offshore and bring it back into the country the government will go after them for it.
Cold Fusion!!!!! Thank you so much. I've been working on a book about ponzi especially in Nigeria. I intend to be more vocal about it because a ponzi schemes will never ends.
@@OmarAlikaj I definitely will, I just want people to know how to identify them and also deal with their finances because as a developing country and a growing economy,we have a lot of people struggling to make ends meet and that increases the lust for glittering but empty opportunities that leaves many in a worse state. I want to begin a community that identifies likely ponzi schemes and expose them to the public before they are successful with their plans
@@OmarAlikaj I definitely will, I just want people to know how to identify them and also deal with their finances because as a developing country and a growing economy,we have a lot of people struggling to make ends meet and that increases the lust for glittering but empty opportunities that leaves many in a worse state. I want to begin a community that identifies likely ponzi schemes and expose them to the public before they are successful with their plans
24:49 Save the Children is a legitimate charity, Save the Kids is a scam. Even though in the video it can be obvious, it's a bad mistake to keep in the video all the same.
@@BrassAmbassador no it isn’t, it’s a channel that covers many many different topics ranging from finance, business, technology, science and history and this is just one of his channels.
It's not always people from a weak financial background that fall for Ponzi schemes. People that invested with Bernie Madoff were well versed in economics / investing and they got scammed for decades.
24:50 Dagogo, no! No no no *_no_* ! Save the Children is a legitimate organization. The scam was Save the *_Kids_* . They are similar because the scammers were specifically trying to ride on Save the Children's reputation. Come on, you even put the actual title of the scam on the screen.
Dagogo evolves more and more to a real financial expert. It's really cool that he is willing to share his knowledge and research with the community. Cheers Dagogo
I can add that Ponzi schemes work even better in games than in real life: There was this mobile strategy game based on The Hobbit back in 2013; I was very into strategy games at the time, but also psychology, and so I decided to experiment a bit. I joined an "alliance" (with a capacity of up to 100 people), and autistically built my empire until I became the, on paper, strongest player military-wise on my server (the game measured and displayed the total value of all players´ in an expectedly arbitrary fashion). Due to my stature as the largest fish in the pond in combination with being well-spoken and as active in the game as only someone who has ADHD and autism can be, I quickly rose in the ranks of the alliance, and as we inevitably went to war with other alliances, I went into action; I sent out mass messages to the alliance, arguing that since my cities are "obviously" the safest place to store resources since they're so well defended and intimidating (I believe I hadn't been challenged at all thus far), the best option for the alliance in order to not lose too much resources due to plundering enemies is to simply send all their excess resources to me for... "safekeeping". Of course, whenever anyone needed resources to build something, they would send me a message requesting the amount needed and I would always oblige. Now, do you think received far more resources than I had to send? Of course I did, I also used every incident of someone being plundered for a significant amount to further reinforce the importance of sending me EVERYTHING... All of this naturally led to me further securing my place as the biggest fish for quite a few weeks (until the pay to win-players overthrew me lol), and as an added bonus I was also way more influential than the official leader and founder of the alliance, whom I naturally overthrew in a "democratic" coup; I obviously already knew I was the only relevant candidate, but I wanted to make it look like I was not a dictator, but the choice of the people unlike the "tyrant" who simply founded the alliance and proclaimed himself the leader. When the original leader resigned and gave up his top spot, I went ahead and left the alliance to create a new one just to see how many would actually follow me, and it was actually quite a few (30-40 something, most others were not that active players). What was most surprising to me was that no one ever questioned my suggestions, no one ever asked how much resources I actually sat on, everyone quietly went along and even praised me for my strategy and commitment. Overall 10/10 gaming experience, no regrets.
While watching your video about Ponzi schemes, I get an ad for investing in the Metaverse, an obvious scam of the 2020’s. An ad that was played to me twice during the video. Scary algorithm.
what i learned from this, is that ponzi schemes are great if you manage to get in and out fast before they collapse. But the greed is what keeps the majority investors in, even if they smell something suspicious. Also, what if US dollar collapses due to the reason mentioned in the video. How does one walk with less damage from it? I live in EU. Would not having USD or stocks in American companies help?
I agree with you. The first move is to stay away from the dollar and US stocks. Additionally, I would put my money in properties and things that may go up in the value in the future (Assets). This is not financial advice, but as a fellow EU resident, I wanted to share my opinion. Peace.
You simply don't understand, do you. If the US dollar collapses, the whole world is, excuse my language, fukked. Remember the 2008 crisis? So at this point, if WE don't want that to happen, we need to keep investing in this wild, crazy and foolish dream named DOLLAR. I know it sounds crazy, but that's how the world works. Be safe.
It doesn't matter that YOU personally are not invested in the US because YOUR banks ARE invested. So if the US government defaults on its debt, the whole of the EU banking system will collapse with it.
@@alexandrupara4574 that's why many country are want to cutting reliancd on US dollar. Country like Indonesia are now trade directly from china without a US dollar
@@Mhdalzein we are toward the end of an asset bubble in the UK, EU and US, property prices could crash at any moment and likely will as there is a ceiling to rents and we are currently touching it... Property is categorically the wrong thing to buy currently, buying shares in utilities is a better bet, they are things the world can't do without and if they get nationalised, there's always a decent guaranteed minimum payout.....
If I had to picture from scratch with no previous knowledge of what someone who had the concept of a Ponzi scheme named after him, I would picture an exact replica of Charles Ponzi with that hat and smug look on his face
Thanks for that video. I’ve seen one in action and couldn’t believe how many fell for it and even got grumpy with me not wanting to buy into it. Your video should be mandatory for year 8 in school.
Prosecutor: “Bitconnect is one of the worst Ponzi schemes ever, and the largest cryptocurrency fraud ever charged!” Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX: “Allow us to introduce ourselves…”
@@1337Horde FTX is literally so bad that they had to get the guy who handled the Enron bankruptcy to liquidate it, and he said not even Enron was that bad
Loved that you gave Coffeezilla a shout out, his videos are really well researched, just like yours, even though he is operating in a totally different area👍🏼
Others and I have pointed out some glaring research flaws in some of Dagogo’s work; not in line with his production quality. The production quality, aesthetics liberties, and his smooth narration/voice are the main selling points of his content and what keep me coming back & wanting to stay subbed.
The coupons were always the key- there couldn’t be enough of them for it to even be true. It’s always basic math anyone can do that takes down schemes. Even for guys like Bankman Fried from FTX.
One of the best RUclips channels on this platform. You put so much work and effort into every video and we all appreciate it and learn so much from you. ❤️
The thing about the gold standard though is that it’s now impossible to follow. There simply hasn’t been enough gold mined in the history of humanity to back the current wealth of the global economy. Should we back the dollar with a physical commodity? Sure, I suppose. But gold? Nah. That ship left long ago.
the gold standard was one of history's most fantastic disasters: unbelievable and unnecessary misery was created via the gold standard and its elimination was the greatest and most beneficial achievements of the Roosevelt administration. Why anyone still believes it was good is utterly beyond me: it usually comes from a complete ignorance of financial history and the negative effects the gold standard has had ever since it was effectively adopted in America in 1873 (for context, immediately after being adopted it sparked one of the longest depressions in American history.......all unnecessary if we had not adopted the gold standard).
@@skullface1818 That's not the point. The US dollar is printed out of thin air to fund exorbitant budgets. It is essentially monopoly money. What's the first rule of monopoly? "The bank never goes broke, if it runs out of money it simply prints on any ordinary piece of paper"
@@Samuels-nz9em bingo! so funny that you mention Monopoly. True story, I don't even refer to currency as the dollar anymore; i call it Monopoly money because that's exactly what it is
Well, that's how retirement system works :D at least in Poland. The only reason old people get their money each month is because working people are constantly paying obligatory money for "their own" retirement in the future. :D
I guess the (slight) difference is two-fold: 1) it’s obligatory, which means people can’t simply back out of it if they are making income. 2) the failure of a Ponzi scheme occurs when there are no more new investors to pay previous investors. In a country, as long as you keep having new citizens being born/immigrating and entering the workforce, you are *somewhat* sheltered from this risk. This is one of the larger reasons why first world countries are beginning to become more and more concerned about declining birth rates, as well as the upswell in costs due to the sheer size of the baby boomer generation. I’m a millennial living in the US, and I’m almost certain that I’m paying into a social security system that will not be providing for me when I reach retirement age. So yeah, there are differences, but I guess it’s probably a Ponzi scheme in the end lol
There is something positive to learn from Charles Ponzi! Btw, you have lots of money that is why your banks offer 2% on deposits. In my country, banks offer even 10% p.a because there are few depositors.
I’m confused, so can someone explain it to me? He bought the home for $7M or it is now worth $7M? Not to discredit your research, but I can’t find that info at all
This happened in Ghana from 2017 - 2018/19. A company called Menzgold claimed they were investing in gold & promised 10% monthly returns to investors. They bought the gold initially but stopped and started paying new investor money to old investors. It's probably one of the biggest ponzi schemes to ever happen in Ghana. People lost huge sums of money. The crazy thing is, the owner didn't face any jail time.
@@nii_amart Too bad. Funny, in Ghana I see more church-going, bible-clutching Christians than any other country I ever been, yey nobody trust anybody, because there's so much banditry, scheming, corruption, and thievery there. African people need to return to traditional ways.
These vids always blow my damn mind, iv always wanted to know how exactly a Ponzi Scheme worked and man.....Charles was nearly an absolute genius for this!
I watch every episode of American Greed and it blows my mind people fall for this stuff. If someone can give you a 15% a month return on your money, they wouldn't need to raise cash from individuals off the street. A bank would lend the money in a second.
@@vinyllpreviews9462 Over the years I’ve learnt with all these scams, there are always red flags early on that should raise suspicion, but even those that do suspect something might be up, still go with it anyway.
Hey Cold Fusion, I like your videos! Something to add to the discussion about the US Fed: the trade deficit, which you alluded to, is many decades old. It's not just goods and services that the US trades for foreign capital -- it's also investment in business and real estate. It's true that the US govt pays investors out of the pockets of other investors. But it also pays out of tax revenues. And as you noted it also pays from the bank accounts of savers by inflating away the value of the savings. Ponzi scheme? Sure! But it's also a shell game.
yep, ponzi did a 50%-100% overselling, and it earned him the ire of everyone, including the law, but when every single bank system in the world does the same, except regularly overselling 1000% or more, that is ok, since it is done by the banks and we have to trust in them. and they are backed by the government. Ponzis greatest mistake was not letting a few big guys into the inner circle earning money from it, and it would still be operational.
The Ponzi story is one of the most interesting stories in 1920s ish history. Like the whole thing sounds like it came from a movie or a novel except it really happened.
It was like millions of millions of dollars too. Like how much would that be worth today? It’s crazy to think how “rich” he was for his time period too!
The wild range in years served was strange to me. 10 years, 50 years, 50 years, 11 years, 150 years... It didn't seem to follow a pattern or correlate with the magnitude of the crime (e.g. number of people defrauded or how much). Though I don't have the numbers in front of me, maybe it was a bit more related than my first impressions show. Courts can and should also take intent into account. But even then, a lot of malicious characters got off with a decade and a finger waggle, vs others serving half a century (and likely not surviving that long in prison). I wonder what accounts for the disparity.
Simple really if they defrauded poor people they will usually get reduced sentences while if they defrauded rich people they will get the book thrown at them.
I commend you on not just outstanding presentations but as you did at the end of this episode, provide meaningful and useful advice to people so that they (if they're listening and take your advice seriously) won't end up shelling out THEIR hard-earned dollars to those who have their sights on easy-rich dollars. I see all the time on RUclips flashy presenters of these "get rich quick" schemes and you have to ask yourself -- has the human race sunk to such low levels that the only life value some have is prefixed by a dollar sign! Most likely, those people aren't going to be watching your videos anyway, so if they ever possessed an ethical bone in their body, that has over their life fractured so much that it is now dust.
Reading about people grabbing multi-figures monthly as income in investments even in this crazy days in the market,any pointers on how to make substantial progress in earnings?would be appreciated...
@Michael, You make it seem unreal to make up to that as a passive income annually,when it’s clearly possible. I have made over 1Hunnid thousand dollars from January till now with no joke game plan. She’s a masterpiece and her name is Christiana.😁
A lot of the U.S. Deficit just like most other nation's debt is not borrowed from outside investors, but borrowed from within the nation's existing assets, making the nation it's own lender and debt holder. It's basically an inverse bubble that grow the more you borrow from it, and shrink when the debt is decreased. That said, the world economy is held up by debt.
First of all, let me say how much I enjoy the shows you post. I always find them informative and alluring. I always anticipate your next show. Now, that being said, when you say the US government is the instigator of a huge Ponzi scheme, I really think you’re missing the forest for the trees. Idiots that elect politicians that don’t account for a sense of maturity and responsibility and will not make the hard decisions are the true instigators of the American Ponzi scheme. We as Americans need to see that we are the ones killing ourselves. If we truly want to make a change, we have to suck it up and put true honest individuals in office that will make the hard decisions.
The Franklin Syndicate, which ripped off millions from people around the United States with a promise of 520 percent increase per annum at the end of the 19th century, never gets any love in stories like this. The best part of the Franklin Syndicate is that two of the three principals got away with the cash and lived happily ever after, disproving the adage that crime does not pay.
The problem with "the Fed is a Ponzi scheme" is that the returns on gov't bonds is absurdly low at 2-3% (inflation is usually 2%, so the Fed is only promising 0-1% return). Stocks have 10x returns, so even if it is a scheme, it's not a attractive one.
@@alxfonso4924 Bonds are backed by the US gov't. The gov't and its revenue is much more concrete and stable than the value of commodities like gold, oil, etc which fluctuates wildly (e.g., negative oil prices).
40% a month lol do people not know how to use a compound interest calculator?? Just $1 dollar at 40% monthly will turn into $1.9 TRILLION in 7 years smh if it's too good to be true, it probably is.
If you had a business idea that could generate that kind of money, you wouldn't need investors off the streets. People with money Only be linning up around the corner to invest.
I strongly disagree the US Federal Reserve is a Ponzi scheme. The loans handed out by the Fed, or any Central Bank, is backed by real value, namely the production and exports of the country in question. Ponzi schemes are backed by nothing of value at all. It's true Central Banks don't have all the cash readily available, but I challenge you to name any bank that can pay back everyone at once. Or any company that can pay back all their debts at once for that matter.
It is not even true. If hopes and dreams, and sometimes peace of mind (I'm with the stupid and so is my money) are of any value, then most Ponzi schemes are backed by something of value.
It is impossible for everyone to withdraw their funds from the bank at once, no matter what the anarchist say. Having an educated debate will be nice, but judging from your question, I am sure that you are definitely not educated in banking and financial institution. Spend more time reading books and less time browsing shitposts.
As a finance teacher, I can tell you that not only the Fed but any central bank is "technically" a ponzi scheme. Not only that. But the banking system and the monetary system they are the biggest player of, are much larger ponzi scheme too. If everybody tried to withdraw money from their bank at the same time there would be only a fraction of it... But the governments would be there to reassure depositors with their own ponzi scheme (public debt that will never be paid back, but rolled over and over...). And the central bank is there to help with its unlimited money creation (sometimes called money printing). But, contrary to the other ponzi schemes these are legal, and they work... and the worst that can happen is that either a sovereign default (more typical of emerging countries) or high inflation due to excessive money creation (typical of developed countries, but also some emerging countries)
Well, the worst that can happen short of large scale collapse of the entire economic system
A ponzi scheme as an end, if it's not ending it's a fiat currency.
Bank run.
It’s not a Ponzi scheme, Mr Finance Teacher. A Ponzi has a distinct definition, ColdFusion even states that in the beginning. A government issuing debt and creating money literally has nothing to do with a Ponzi scheme. You can like it or criticize it, but it’s not a Ponzi scheme.
@@Big_Tex you clearly didn't watch to the end. The federal reserve is listed as the greatest ponzi scheme in close to the end of the video
I know it was wrong, but buying out the company you got fired from, just to fire the guy that fired you, is a hilarious power move lol.
How many of us would love to do the same? i was never outright fired, but worked for some true jerks
Not gonna lie, I support that power move, if only because of the dedication put into it.
@@tillitsdone I love looking back on the two times I actually got fired. Ok, 3 if you count the liquor store when I was 21. One of them kept changing customer orders for delivery at night that I had set up all day long per plan. Oh well, my fault I guess. The other company called me one month after canning me to tell me they didn't realize just how much work I did. But I already had another job. Oh yeah, the liquor store. I was drinking beer on the job with the rest of the crew. Guilty. However, I could have blown the whistle on the police officer that arrived at closing time to "keep us safe" at closing only to drink multiple shots of free liquor and drink beer and then drive drunk in his police cruiser home.
I am so close to retirement that I relish my firings. Beautiful memories!!!!
Straight BOSS move!!
Asserting dominance
The fact he even got the cops to invest is hilarious
Ahoy
hahaaa dumb
Actually it was irony
Cops too need money.
This comment is an Easter egg in and of itself
My ex was constantly falling into these schemes and wasting so much time into “making moves”, embarrassing himself in front of his friends and family members, it was absolutely horrible . I feel sad still just remembering how completely sucked in he was into these types of “jobs”
Give me an example please 😂
Did we date the same dude?! Lol. Always "making moves" with absolute nonsense. Smh. I'm still cringing.
@@ElmerGLue damnn
@@coonjamalay Im gonna start the story by saying he NEVER made money, and was always in the red. He'd buy a sh*t ton of supplies (hoodies, Keto diet powders, programs, etc etc etc) he had to 'sign up at least 3 others' and his bosses were dudes that would rent luxury cars for their 'meet ups' in Chick-Fil-a parking lots to seem 'legit' and convincing. The guy was a total believer. Nothing wrong with that if its your own company, or a legit company, but these things were clearly scams.
@@ageorgiev89 Yeah... keyword 'SMART' and the reality is that most people are not , and those that are, prey on the financially illiterate and desperate people, usually giving their last money to try to get ahead. so its still 100% pathetic.
"The Largest Ponzi Schemes in History"
2022 FTX: Hold my FTT...
Greed is one of the biggest dangers
A mere 3 billion.. How large is that?
@@Originalimocpretty sure it was over 10 billion actually
FTT wasn't ponzi. It was misappropriation of funds
Elon musk: hold my Ketamin
One thing that saves me from falling into any funny scheme is that I always ask myself, if the return is so good, why don't they just invest their own money? Why look for investors? Even if these people only have a few thousand or just a hundred thousand, to begin with, they can double their money every few weeks or months and their fund will grow bigger. Why are they so kind to offer strangers like me the opportunity to get such a big return.
yeah anyone that figured out a way to get 20% or more returns wouldn't tell anyone else
Exactly. 👍
Bcoz they have limited amount of money ? Why do people need to finance to buy an asset ? Bcoz they dont have the money. Same here... not so hard to understand.
@@peace4045 if you don't have the money to do an investment then you shouldn't get a loan or use the money stored away because you should never invest or gamble what you cannot afford to lose.
@@toomanyaccounts R u for real ? U know what it means as entreprenuer, investor, etc... ?
Dont read my statement as a standalone... it was a reply to a comment. 🤦🤦🤦
Bit-co-NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECT
WHOOOOOOOO!!!! 😂😂😂
I've noticed, most of the time these schemes have some really charismatic personality leading the charge 😂😂😂.
On the side note, I do think crypto have similar traits to Ponzi schemes. The bigger fool maybe? Idk it just feels like it.
Hey hey heeyy hey hey HeeeEey
BIT-CON-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEECT
I love that meme
What ever happened to that guy?
I hope he still enjoys success from the memes.
Note how he poorly attempts to copy rap stars of the 90s
@@ccateni28 He lost out big time. He believed in the scheme and thought it would make him rich, which is where his passion came from. Wikipedia states that he invested into it and lost all his money too.
24:58 it was "save the kids" coin, save the children is an actual charity.
Good catch
LOL, I'm sure Save the Children is happy about the free publicity!
@@ICreatedU1 Not really, they ripped off their brand and stained it with the scam. If STC weren't preoccupied with being a charity, they probably would be suing the conspirators for defamation.
@@amirpourghoureiyan1637 Oh, really, you think they weren't happy about the free publicity? Why not?? ;)
@@ICreatedU1 Free Infamy*** Do you think a charitable organization wants to be tied to big money scamming?
"He even bought the shipping company he worked for just to fire his boss" lmao
I've known about this story a while ago. But I am tuning into this channel to watch it again because Coldfusion puts content together so well 💯
Give a man a gun he can rob a bank, give a man a bank he can rob the world
🥂🥂
@@mistaowickkuh6249 Give a man a solar system, he can rob the galaxy.
You didnt understand the video
Give the man a world?
Give the man a world?
You missed to mention the lebanese government/banks ponzi where they promised depositors 15-20% returns in US dollars a currency they don’t control or can print. Eventually loans added up to more than 100 billion is US dollars and bank’s foreign currency was only 14 billion (alleged not confirmed) you should do a video about this topic!
This
lebeneezer
The entire UK's pension system is a Ponzi scheme. They don't even try to hide it.
Damn I never heard anything about this.
@@gussampson5029 Me either
Thank you for this... Bernie Madoff's case was so famous it overshadowed all the other times this type of thing had been perpetrated recently. American Greed on CNBC does a great job examining things that center around this type of financial scam.
Son of Sam FTX " Hold my Beer"
As long as greed exists, Ponzi Schemes will evolve to new ways!
Thanks for this video. It proves not to follow the crowd blindly. People can be mislead easily.
Question: Do these scumbags get to keep their offshore money after being released from prison? Getting merely 11 years doesn't feel like justice to me, especially if there's an early release for good behavior.
they tend not to since any access of the offshore money means it can be grabbed. so it just sits there until a number of years pass then the bank claims it legally
he actually got 110 years
@@Kylec3 I was talking about R. Allen Stanford (17:38)
Good behavior : I didn’t scam the guards or fellow prisoners whilst in jail ; I even gave them an unofficial pay increase!
Prosecutions for massive fraud always include huge restitution requirements that can't be forgiven by declaring bankruptcy. By the time a Ponzi scheme collapses most of these people are broke anyway, and any additional money they have gets paid to the government. If they were hiding money offshore and bring it back into the country the government will go after them for it.
Cold Fusion!!!!! Thank you so much.
I've been working on a book about ponzi especially in Nigeria. I intend to be more vocal about it because a ponzi schemes will never ends.
Nigeria? That's Dagogo's home country, and mine. Whatever that work is, maybe let us know what you conclude on the subject.
@@OmarAlikaj I definitely will, I just want people to know how to identify them and also deal with their finances because as a developing country and a growing economy,we have a lot of people struggling to make ends meet and that increases the lust for glittering but empty opportunities that leaves many in a worse state. I want to begin a community that identifies likely ponzi schemes and expose them to the public before they are successful with their plans
@@OmarAlikaj I definitely will, I just want people to know how to identify them and also deal with their finances because as a developing country and a growing economy,we have a lot of people struggling to make ends meet and that increases the lust for glittering but empty opportunities that leaves many in a worse state. I want to begin a community that identifies likely ponzi schemes and expose them to the public before they are successful with their plans
MM right?
Is this the one where the Nigerian prince needs help from you to recover his fortune ? 😁
24:49 Save the Children is a legitimate charity, Save the Kids is a scam. Even though in the video it can be obvious, it's a bad mistake to keep in the video all the same.
Probably the clearest example of defamation we've had in recent times.
always look forward to these
Me too.
Ponzi schemes? Weird.
Same here. Excellent quality and informative
It's the studious voice for me. 🤷🏽♂️🗣
Always.
The moment someone screamed the name of their company at the top of their lungs inches from a microphone I'd know it was fake.
That Bitconnect stage ‘Bitconeeeeeect’ made me laugh so hard 😂😂😂
Dagogo is a master story teller. I love the diversity of his subjects and the music is a bonus.
The story does seem to have discrepancies with Patrick Boyle's version though.
ruclips.net/video/w4waqVKanxA/видео.html
Who is dagogo
@@BrassAmbassador no it isn’t, it’s a channel that covers many many different topics ranging from finance, business, technology, science and history and this is just one of his channels.
@@MediumDSpeaks dagogo is the man independently running cold fusion
@@BrassAmbassador actually check out the channel.
Dagogo has me hooked on all his videos, no matter the subject I end up watching to the end.
Why did u say so ?
who is dagogo
@@comicsandanimation5531 Dagogo Altraide is the voice and producer of these videos.
Why don’t you just say Coldfusion lmao who gives a shit who produced the video the channel is called Coldfusion
@@JohnFKennedy420 stfu john
Me: Pfff, I'd never fall for THAT crap
*Also me: all in on Shibu Inu*
Did someone promise you guaranteed returns on that though?
@@lufazim Yes, a talking Shibu did.
@@gibran6190 😂
Well, how's that going for you?
@@ctdieselnut Dump it!
The best ponzi schemes are those who have never been caught.
It's not always people from a weak financial background that fall for Ponzi schemes. People that invested with Bernie Madoff were well versed in economics / investing and they got scammed for decades.
I am not sure they should keep their credentials.
As a lebanese myself, I can say with full and utter confidence what is a ponzi scheme. All of us are currently living in the aftermath of one.
L lira b alf kheir
The dream is over everywhere
@@ktans6264 ba3ed 3ana karameh. Basita wlo
Be strong, that's the only thing you all can do.
I feel like my country is gonna burst any moment now.
Ponzi scheme? Bi Lebnen??? lah wlo
24:50
Dagogo, no! No no no *_no_* !
Save the Children is a legitimate organization. The scam was Save the *_Kids_* . They are similar because the scammers were specifically trying to ride on Save the Children's reputation.
Come on, you even put the actual title of the scam on the screen.
Dagogo evolves more and more to a real financial expert.
It's really cool that he is willing to share his knowledge and research with the community.
Cheers Dagogo
I can add that Ponzi schemes work even better in games than in real life:
There was this mobile strategy game based on The Hobbit back in 2013; I was very into strategy games at the time, but also psychology, and so I decided to experiment a bit. I joined an "alliance" (with a capacity of up to 100 people), and autistically built my empire until I became the, on paper, strongest player military-wise on my server (the game measured and displayed the total value of all players´ in an expectedly arbitrary fashion). Due to my stature as the largest fish in the pond in combination with being well-spoken and as active in the game as only someone who has ADHD and autism can be, I quickly rose in the ranks of the alliance, and as we inevitably went to war with other alliances, I went into action; I sent out mass messages to the alliance, arguing that since my cities are "obviously" the safest place to store resources since they're so well defended and intimidating (I believe I hadn't been challenged at all thus far), the best option for the alliance in order to not lose too much resources due to plundering enemies is to simply send all their excess resources to me for... "safekeeping". Of course, whenever anyone needed resources to build something, they would send me a message requesting the amount needed and I would always oblige.
Now, do you think received far more resources than I had to send? Of course I did, I also used every incident of someone being plundered for a significant amount to further reinforce the importance of sending me EVERYTHING... All of this naturally led to me further securing my place as the biggest fish for quite a few weeks (until the pay to win-players overthrew me lol), and as an added bonus I was also way more influential than the official leader and founder of the alliance, whom I naturally overthrew in a "democratic" coup; I obviously already knew I was the only relevant candidate, but I wanted to make it look like I was not a dictator, but the choice of the people unlike the "tyrant" who simply founded the alliance and proclaimed himself the leader. When the original leader resigned and gave up his top spot, I went ahead and left the alliance to create a new one just to see how many would actually follow me, and it was actually quite a few (30-40 something, most others were not that active players).
What was most surprising to me was that no one ever questioned my suggestions, no one ever asked how much resources I actually sat on, everyone quietly went along and even praised me for my strategy and commitment. Overall 10/10 gaming experience, no regrets.
Love this story
While watching your video about Ponzi schemes, I get an ad for investing in the Metaverse, an obvious scam of the 2020’s. An ad that was played to me twice during the video. Scary algorithm.
what i learned from this, is that ponzi schemes are great if you manage to get in and out fast before they collapse. But the greed is what keeps the majority investors in, even if they smell something suspicious.
Also, what if US dollar collapses due to the reason mentioned in the video. How does one walk with less damage from it? I live in EU. Would not having USD or stocks in American companies help?
I agree with you. The first move is to stay away from the dollar and US stocks. Additionally, I would put my money in properties and things that may go up in the value in the future (Assets). This is not financial advice, but as a fellow EU resident, I wanted to share my opinion.
Peace.
You simply don't understand, do you. If the US dollar collapses, the whole world is, excuse my language, fukked. Remember the 2008 crisis? So at this point, if WE don't want that to happen, we need to keep investing in this wild, crazy and foolish dream named DOLLAR. I know it sounds crazy, but that's how the world works. Be safe.
It doesn't matter that YOU personally are not invested in the US because YOUR banks ARE invested. So if the US government defaults on its debt, the whole of the EU banking system will collapse with it.
@@alexandrupara4574 that's why many country are want to cutting reliancd on US dollar.
Country like Indonesia are now trade directly from china without a US dollar
@@Mhdalzein we are toward the end of an asset bubble in the UK, EU and US, property prices could crash at any moment and likely will as there is a ceiling to rents and we are currently touching it... Property is categorically the wrong thing to buy currently, buying shares in utilities is a better bet, they are things the world can't do without and if they get nationalised, there's always a decent guaranteed minimum payout.....
Ponzi schemes is such a huge issue Nigeria. Nearly 20 have crashed this year alone, taking billions with them
Are you a Nigerian prince?
If I had to picture from scratch with no previous knowledge of what someone who had the concept of a Ponzi scheme named after him, I would picture an exact replica of Charles Ponzi with that hat and smug look on his face
Thanks for that video. I’ve seen one in action and couldn’t believe how many fell for it and even got grumpy with me not wanting to buy into it. Your video should be mandatory for year 8 in school.
Prosecutor: “Bitconnect is one of the worst Ponzi schemes ever, and the largest cryptocurrency fraud ever charged!”
Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX: “Allow us to introduce ourselves…”
Spot on
@@1337Horde FTX is literally so bad that they had to get the guy who handled the Enron bankruptcy to liquidate it, and he said not even Enron was that bad
Ponzi scams can be very profitable if you are in the first wave of investors but you should know when to get out of the house
you will never be in the first wave of investors. If you think you are you've been duped
That Ponzi fella was a piece of work
Loved that you gave Coffeezilla a shout out, his videos are really well researched, just like yours, even though he is operating in a totally different area👍🏼
Meanwhile Muta isn't even mentioned lol
Others and I have pointed out some glaring research flaws in some of Dagogo’s work; not in line with his production quality. The production quality, aesthetics liberties, and his smooth narration/voice are the main selling points of his content and what keep me coming back & wanting to stay subbed.
One of the very, very, VERY few crypto guys worth listening to
@@Bludgeoned2DEATH2 It's annoying but if I had to pick from the two, I think Coffee needs the shoutout more
Imagine stealing from a church so much that your family deports you.
The coupons were always the key- there couldn’t be enough of them for it to even be true. It’s always basic math anyone can do that takes down schemes. Even for guys like Bankman Fried from FTX.
One of the best RUclips channels on this platform. You put so much work and effort into every video and we all appreciate it and learn so much from you. ❤️
🥂🥂
Are there "RUclips channels" on _other_ platforms? :p
the history of removing the dollar from gold is maddening
The thing about the gold standard though is that it’s now impossible to follow. There simply hasn’t been enough gold mined in the history of humanity to back the current wealth of the global economy. Should we back the dollar with a physical commodity? Sure, I suppose. But gold? Nah. That ship left long ago.
the gold standard was one of history's most fantastic disasters: unbelievable and unnecessary misery was created via the gold standard and its elimination was the greatest and most beneficial achievements of the Roosevelt administration.
Why anyone still believes it was good is utterly beyond me: it usually comes from a complete ignorance of financial history and the negative effects the gold standard has had ever since it was effectively adopted in America in 1873 (for context, immediately after being adopted it sparked one of the longest depressions in American history.......all unnecessary if we had not adopted the gold standard).
@@skullface1818 That's not the point. The US dollar is printed out of thin air to fund exorbitant budgets. It is essentially monopoly money. What's the first rule of monopoly? "The bank never goes broke, if it runs out of money it simply prints on any ordinary piece of paper"
@@Samuels-nz9em bingo! so funny that you mention Monopoly. True story, I don't even refer to currency as the dollar anymore; i call it Monopoly money because that's exactly what it is
Well, that's how retirement system works :D at least in Poland. The only reason old people get their money each month is because working people are constantly paying obligatory money for "their own" retirement in the future. :D
That's how American Social Security works
Also how American suburb infrastructure works too.
Retirement system? Giant scam indeed.
That's how it works everywhere
I guess the (slight) difference is two-fold: 1) it’s obligatory, which means people can’t simply back out of it if they are making income. 2) the failure of a Ponzi scheme occurs when there are no more new investors to pay previous investors. In a country, as long as you keep having new citizens being born/immigrating and entering the workforce, you are *somewhat* sheltered from this risk. This is one of the larger reasons why first world countries are beginning to become more and more concerned about declining birth rates, as well as the upswell in costs due to the sheer size of the baby boomer generation. I’m a millennial living in the US, and I’m almost certain that I’m paying into a social security system that will not be providing for me when I reach retirement age. So yeah, there are differences, but I guess it’s probably a Ponzi scheme in the end lol
There is something positive to learn from Charles Ponzi!
Btw, you have lots of money that is why your banks offer 2% on deposits. In my country, banks offer even 10% p.a because there are few depositors.
Because only Bankers are allowed to rip you off. They don't like competition.
Perfectly presented
Why do you love black men so much
I’m confused, so can someone explain it to me? He bought the home for $7M or it is now worth $7M? Not to discredit your research, but I can’t find that info at all
Amazing video.
Really shows us to just work genuinely and help people.
40% monthly returns with no risk of losing your money? That's amazing! To where do I transfer all of my money???????
This happened in Ghana from 2017 - 2018/19. A company called Menzgold claimed they were investing in gold & promised 10% monthly returns to investors. They bought the gold initially but stopped and started paying new investor money to old investors. It's probably one of the biggest ponzi schemes to ever happen in Ghana. People lost huge sums of money. The crazy thing is, the owner didn't face any jail time.
Africa is a paradise for schemers...
Was the top schemer a Ghanaian or a foreigner?
@@YaoEspirito Ghanaian
@@nii_amart
Too bad. Funny, in Ghana I see more church-going, bible-clutching Christians than any other country I ever been, yey nobody trust anybody, because there's so much banditry, scheming, corruption, and thievery there.
African people need to return to traditional ways.
@@YaoEspirito that's actually pretty spot on. The country is in a mess.
When they don’t want you to ask questions, that’s a red flag right there!
These vids always blow my damn mind, iv always wanted to know how exactly a Ponzi Scheme worked and man.....Charles was nearly an absolute genius for this!
Not genius, brave mabey. Charles was to genius as your name is to feminism.
I watch every episode of American Greed and it blows my mind people fall for this stuff.
If someone can give you a 15% a month return on your money, they wouldn't need to raise cash from individuals off the street. A bank would lend the money in a second.
@@vinyllpreviews9462 Over the years I’ve learnt with all these scams, there are always red flags early on that should raise suspicion, but even those that do suspect something might be up, still go with it anyway.
Ponzi was not a genius. He kept getting caught. His postal coupon scheme only lasted for months. Madoff's lasted 15 years.
Rothstein actually fled because of a murder charge. I believe it was his second in command he had murdered.
Scamming super rich people should give you some lenience. However, it does get you killed. Stick to scamming poor people and you'll be allright.
In 2022, SBF said hold my beer.
Hey Cold Fusion, I like your videos! Something to add to the discussion about the US Fed: the trade deficit, which you alluded to, is many decades old. It's not just goods and services that the US trades for foreign capital -- it's also investment in business and real estate. It's true that the US govt pays investors out of the pockets of other investors. But it also pays out of tax revenues. And as you noted it also pays from the bank accounts of savers by inflating away the value of the savings. Ponzi scheme? Sure! But it's also a shell game.
Could you do a video on turning commodity from a physical thing into an abstract idea that contains value?
Marx's Capital is the place to start for that
I actually get excited when a new video is posted 😂
yep, ponzi did a 50%-100% overselling, and it earned him the ire of everyone, including the law, but when every single bank system in the world does the same, except regularly overselling 1000% or more, that is ok, since it is done by the banks and we have to trust in them. and they are backed by the government. Ponzis greatest mistake was not letting a few big guys into the inner circle earning money from it, and it would still be operational.
Thankyou ColdFusion for constantly bringing good journalism and helping us learn something new and build more perspective every time!! thankyou.
The placement of an eToro ad right in a key moment was flawless.
very good, there was a lot of research there, and it was definitely worth it. I love your style of video production, very unique and informative
The Ponzi story is one of the most interesting stories in 1920s ish history. Like the whole thing sounds like it came from a movie or a novel except it really happened.
It was like millions of millions of dollars too. Like how much would that be worth today? It’s crazy to think how “rich” he was for his time period too!
Not anymore. Sam Bankman-fried is the new king of ponzi.
You're channel is the best
Quick correction for this video: Getting rich doesn't necessarily mean you need to work hard. It does mean you need to work smart though.
But what really is working smart though? At the end of the day you are only as smart as you can be so it still comes down to hardwork.
Working smart it's the hard part, there's way more people who can work hard than people who can work smart, hence the hard part is working smart.
The wild range in years served was strange to me. 10 years, 50 years, 50 years, 11 years, 150 years... It didn't seem to follow a pattern or correlate with the magnitude of the crime (e.g. number of people defrauded or how much). Though I don't have the numbers in front of me, maybe it was a bit more related than my first impressions show.
Courts can and should also take intent into account. But even then, a lot of malicious characters got off with a decade and a finger waggle, vs others serving half a century (and likely not surviving that long in prison). I wonder what accounts for the disparity.
Simple really if they defrauded poor people they will usually get reduced sentences while if they defrauded rich people they will get the book thrown at them.
"I promised 5 schemes, but here's one more - The U.S. Federal Reserve System..."
Dagogo, you my friend are beautifully based haha
A shoutout to Coffeezilla and calling the Fed what it really is? I love it.
21:08 Allen Stanford "was sentenced to 11 years in prison". WHAT??? *Wrong. He is serving a 110 year prison sentence!*
Thanks for clearing that up. I was wondering why did he only get 11 years
“Don’t always follow the crowd and always do your own research when investing” *Sweats in Reddit*
You could run a Ponzi yourself. You are such a smooth talker. Great video
Someone's gotta make a movie of charles ponzi man. His life story sounds perfect for it.
Crazy that shortly after this video, FTX would collapse and would’ve made this list
Well, all the other Ponzi schemers did not have the most powerful navy and army in the world!
They also don't have a dollar printer like the USA. All oil in the world is traded with the US dollar.
I commend you on not just outstanding presentations but as you did at the end of this episode, provide meaningful and useful advice to people so that they (if they're listening and take your advice seriously) won't end up shelling out THEIR hard-earned dollars to those who have their sights on easy-rich dollars.
I see all the time on RUclips flashy presenters of these "get rich quick" schemes and you have to ask yourself -- has the human race sunk to such low levels that the only life value some have is prefixed by a dollar sign! Most likely, those people aren't going to be watching your videos anyway, so if they ever possessed an ethical bone in their body, that has over their life fractured so much that it is now dust.
Reading about people grabbing multi-figures monthly as income in investments even in this crazy days in the market,any pointers on how to make substantial progress in earnings?would be appreciated...
You have to have an idea on what you wanna invest in carefully before going in.
@Michael, You make it seem unreal to make up to that as a passive income annually,when it’s clearly possible. I have made over 1Hunnid thousand dollars from January till now with no joke game plan. She’s a masterpiece and her name is Christiana.😁
Kindly reach her thru Tele gram page with
Christianarobert is the name
This lady right here,I tradr with her she’s inventive and the P.O.T are no jokes, I won’t look awestricken u made mention of her,
Biggest Ponzi Scheme in history...
FTX: Hold my beer
A lot of the U.S. Deficit just like most other nation's debt is not borrowed from outside investors, but borrowed from within the nation's existing assets, making the nation it's own lender and debt holder. It's basically an inverse bubble that grow the more you borrow from it, and shrink when the debt is decreased. That said, the world economy is held up by debt.
Great video as always! I wouldn't mind a longer piece on each of the frauds you brought up (except for the Madoff story, of course).
That was a great episode I really enjoyed it keep up the good work preciate your content you put out
Madoff asked me for money. I told him, "Dude, I only make 25,000 US annually." And then left me alone. I guess I wasn't his target audience. 🤷
He had the nerve to ask a judge for a compassionate release.
This channel needs to be on TV
Probably the best video on schemes, sponsored by RayCon....the irony.
Why? Is the product a con?
The debt the us owes isn't mostly to outside investors ( @22:30 like China and Japan that's only like 20%) most of the dept is to the us itself.
First of all, let me say how much I enjoy the shows you post. I always find them informative and alluring. I always anticipate your next show. Now, that being said, when you say the US government is the instigator of a huge Ponzi scheme, I really think you’re missing the forest for the trees. Idiots that elect politicians that don’t account for a sense of maturity and responsibility and will not make the hard decisions are the true instigators of the American Ponzi scheme. We as Americans need to see that we are the ones killing ourselves. If we truly want to make a change, we have to suck it up and put true honest individuals in office that will make the hard decisions.
The Franklin Syndicate, which ripped off millions from people around the United States with a promise of 520 percent increase per annum at the end of the 19th century, never gets any love in stories like this. The best part of the Franklin Syndicate is that two of the three principals got away with the cash and lived happily ever after, disproving the adage that crime does not pay.
Finally, somebody who got more than just light punishment in this corporate greed and crime establishment.
The problem with "the Fed is a Ponzi scheme" is that the returns on gov't bonds is absurdly low at 2-3% (inflation is usually 2%, so the Fed is only promising 0-1% return). Stocks have 10x returns, so even if it is a scheme, it's not a attractive one.
the ponzi scheme isnt the return on bonds, its the economy itself that isnt based on anything concrete
@@alxfonso4924 Bonds are backed by the US gov't. The gov't and its revenue is much more concrete and stable than the value of commodities like gold, oil, etc which fluctuates wildly (e.g., negative oil prices).
So, why are the U.S almost defaulting every 4 months? The U.S is the biggest ponzi scheme that ever existed
"Government was the real Ponzi Scheme?" ***Hammer of the gun pulled back ***
"It always was, Chuck."
in Malaysia we have our own father of ponzi. It called 'skim pak man telo.'
This video delivered! What a great formula this channel has
40% a month lol do people not know how to use a compound interest calculator??
Just $1 dollar at 40% monthly will turn into $1.9 TRILLION in 7 years smh if it's too good to be true, it probably is.
If you had a business idea that could generate that kind of money, you wouldn't need investors off the streets. People with money Only be linning up around the corner to invest.
I'd argue the FTX scam would fit right in here.
my brother in christ, it is it not just the federal reserve, it is the world involved in one big ponzi
I strongly disagree the US Federal Reserve is a Ponzi scheme. The loans handed out by the Fed, or any Central Bank, is backed by real value, namely the production and exports of the country in question. Ponzi schemes are backed by nothing of value at all. It's true Central Banks don't have all the cash readily available, but I challenge you to name any bank that can pay back everyone at once. Or any company that can pay back all their debts at once for that matter.
It is not even true. If hopes and dreams, and sometimes peace of mind (I'm with the stupid and so is my money) are of any value, then most Ponzi schemes are backed by something of value.
"he was charismatic.. and had a gift of talking' like every other con man.
Ponzi got shorted because people cashed out? What happens if everyone withdraws all the funds from the bank all at once?
That would be a run on the bank
It is impossible for everyone to withdraw their funds from the bank at once, no matter what the anarchist say.
Having an educated debate will be nice, but judging from your question, I am sure that you are definitely not educated in banking and financial institution. Spend more time reading books and less time browsing shitposts.
@@HonestFarmerLigue1Fan way to come across as a twat. Person asks a question and you start attacking them personally.
Dagogo, you called it a year ago in this video and we're now seeing your prediction unfold with the Sam Bankman-Fried saga. Bravo sir! 👏🏾