EXTREMIST

Charles Ponzi

1882 - 1949

Photo of Charles Ponzi

Icon of person Charles Ponzi

Charles Ponzi (; Italian: [ˈpontsi]; born Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi; March 3, 1882 – January 18, 1949) was an Italian charlatan and con artist who operated in the United States and Canada. His aliases included Charles Ponci, Carlo, Benny Broncko and Charles P. Bianchi. Born in Lugo, Italy, he became known in the early 1920s as a swindler in North America for his money-making scheme. He promised clients a 50% profit within 45 days or 100% profit within 90 days, by buying discounted postal reply coupons in other countries and redeeming them at face value in the U.S. as a form of arbitrage.: 1  In reality, Ponzi was paying earlier investors using the investments of later investors. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Charles Ponzi is the 34th most popular extremist (down from 24th in 2019), the 796th most popular biography from Italy (down from 593rd in 2019) and the 3rd most popular Italian Extremist.

Charles Ponzi was most famous for his 1920s scheme, which he called "the Ponzi scheme." In his scheme, Ponzi promised investors a 50% return on their investment in 45 days. He would use the money from new investors to pay the promised returns to earlier investors.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Charles Ponzi by language

Loading...

Among EXTREMISTS

Among extremists, Charles Ponzi ranks 34 out of 283. Before him are Albert Fish, Carlos the Jackal, Machine Gun Kelly, Ulrike Meinhof, Frank Sheeran, and Cleon. After him are Anders Behring Breivik, John Hinckley Jr., H. H. Holmes, Robert-François Damiens, Luis Carrero Blanco, and Timothy McVeigh.

Most Popular Extremists in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1882, Charles Ponzi ranks 39. Before him are Bela Lugosi, William Halsey Jr., Arthur Eddington, Princess Margaret of Connaught, René Coty, and Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia. After him are Robert H. Goddard, Karol Szymanowski, Jacques Maritain, Hugh Dowding, A. A. Milne, and Moritz Schlick. Among people deceased in 1949, Charles Ponzi ranks 15. Before him are Margaret Mitchell, Friedrich Bergius, Hassan al-Banna, James Ensor, August Krogh, and Louis II, Prince of Monaco. After him are Klaus Mann, Axel Munthe, Angela Hitler, Elton Mayo, Victor Fleming, and Edward Stettinius Jr..

Others Born in 1882

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1949

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In Italy

Among people born in Italy, Charles Ponzi ranks 796 out of 5,161. Before him are Tancred, King of Sicily (1138), Piero di Cosimo (1462), Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples (1937), Poliziano (1454), Lentulus Batiatus (-200), and Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia (1751). After him are Jacopo Bellini (1396), Gian Galeazzo Sforza (1469), Tarcisius (263), Gigliola Cinquetti (1947), Claudia Octavia (40), and Athalaric (516).

Others born in Italy

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among EXTREMISTS In Italy

Among extremists born in Italy, Charles Ponzi ranks 3. Before him are Man in the Iron Mask (1640), and Patrizia Reggiani (1948). After him are Tommaso Buscetta (1928), Carlo Gambino (1902), Johnny Torrio (1882), Vincenzo Peruggia (1881), Leonarda Cianciulli (1893), Matteo Messina Denaro (1962), Albert Anastasia (1902), Luciano Leggio (1925), and Frank Nitti (1886).

Italian born Extremists

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous