The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals
He was worth more than 100 Billion USD in today's dollars.
He owned governments and bent them until they submitted.
The match business, which was just one business he monopolized, was MASSIVE - bigger than software today, probably.
Look at the parallels between then and NOW.
A primer (yes, from Wiki, but much his life was controversial and disputed in factual respect, and Wiki's entry is actually very good, IMO).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivar_Kreuger
Economist Article:
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_TDNSRGGS
The book:
http://www.amazon.com/Match-King-Kreuger-Financial-Scandals/dp/1586487434
The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals (Hardcover)
He was worth more than 100 Billion USD in today's dollars.
He owned governments and bent them until they submitted.
The match business, which was just one business he monopolized, was MASSIVE - bigger than software today, probably.
Look at the parallels between then and NOW.
A primer (yes, from Wiki, but much his life was controversial and disputed in factual respect, and Wiki's entry is actually very good, IMO).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivar_Kreuger
Economist Article:
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_TDNSRGGS
The book:
http://www.amazon.com/Match-King-Kreuger-Financial-Scandals/dp/1586487434
The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals (Hardcover)