The Match King (Kindle Edition)

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Partnoy (F.I.A.S.C.O.) delivers a thrilling account of the grandfather of all Ponzi and Madoff schemes—Ivar Kreuger (1880–1932), who made his fortune in the 1920s by raising money from American investors to lend to European governments in exchange for match monopolies. Kreuger was creating more than matches, it turned out; the master of investor psychology created the forerunners of today's derivatives and techniques that are still used by hedge funds and investment banks. Shortly after his suicide in 1932, his schemes finally unraveled. The Kreuger crash bankrupted millions and led to the securities laws of 1933 and 1934—a political reaction to a single event and to one man. Partnoy achieves a nuanced portrait of the charismatic and corrupt financial genius whose advice was sought by Herbert Hoover and other heads of state. A fascinating depiction of a man and his era (Greta Garbo makes memorable cameos), this book is a snapshot of a time all too familiar now: a speculative real estate bubble, unbridled consumer spending, investors buying derivatives based on sketchy information and a Wall Street operating by its own rules. (May)
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From Booklist
Ivar Kreuger, the “best-liked crook that ever lived,” was a Swede who operated on Wall Street during the 1920s, and his apparent suicide in 1932 coincided with the collapse of his businesses, bankrupting millions of investors. Partnoy, author and academic, conducted extensive research on Kreuger, who was considered the greatest business mind of his time. He cornered global markets in safety matches by raising money in the U.S. and loaning it to European governments in return for monopoly control of production and sales; he devised and sold complicated financial products and with questionable accounting methods structured a long list of murky deals. Partnoy explains that Kreuger, while a crook, was an attractive one who created substantial wealth, revived much of post–World War I Europe, and generated real profits for investors before his empire collapsed. With the current arrest of Wall Street’s Bernard Madoff for stealing more than $60 billion from investors, we are reminded that history repeats itself. This is a timely and excellent book. --Mary Whaley
Review
George A. Needham, Founder and Chairman of Needham & Company
"The tale of Ivar Krueger, vividly brought to life by Frank Partnoy, is a reminder that Wall Street has not changed much since the late 1920's. The players change, but the animal spirits remain the same. Anyone interested in today's financial crisis will be captivated by this story."

Time, January 13, 2009
“Frank Partnoy has an exceptionally well-timed book on Ivar Kreuger coming out.”

Robert A. G. Monks, author of Corpocracy and The New Global Investors
“The Match King is a skillfully told tale of the romance and the corruption involved in attempting to be on top of the world. How did Krueger enlisted the loyalty of the people essential to him? Yes, some he bought, but most -- he beguiled.”

Ron Chernow, The New Yorker, 3/23
“An engrossing study of Ivar Kreuger.”

Kirkus, 4/1
“A pertinent, timely tale of financial fraud and how it was maintained for so long.”

Booklist, review 4/15
“A timely and excellent book.”

Wall Street Journal
“Frank Partnoy tells the story of Kreuger's rise and calamitous fall in an eminently readable and scholarly biography…the tale of the Match King holds lessons for our own day and for future generations.”

BusinessWeek
“An absorbing tale and a poignant reminder that every boom has its scoundrels…Partnoy gives us a rich account of the Roaring Twenties' most astounding confidence man”

The Economist
“[The Match King] provides a fascinating insight into how high society falls prey to such colourful characters. Kreuger’s story is uncannily relevant today.”

Slate.com
“Riveting”

New Jersey Star Ledger
“Ivar Kreuger, the super-secretive Swede who made Ponzi look like a piker, doesn't readily come to mind when discussing over-the-top scamsters. But Frank Partnoy's spreadsheet-thorough book should help change that.”

Salon.com
“The Match King is a fun, thought-provoking read that might have seemed like an archaic detour if it had been published five years ago, but now should be required reading for would-be regulators.”

Christian Science Monitor
“Oh, how we love to read about the downfall of the rich and famous! Especially the rich. Especially when they’re corrupt. Consider Swedish industrialist Ivar Kreuger, the Bernard Madoff of his time, whose story is explored in Frank Partnoy’s brisk new biography The Match King.”

NPR’s ‘Planet Money’
“[A] great story about aspiration and deceit and the mania that can come with investing.”

Barron’s
“In his biography The Match King, Partnoy shows how Kreuger transformed himself from a withdrawn Swedish boy to a superstar, international businessman and financier … Partnoy knows how to ratchet up the suspense.”

PopMatters.com
“Frank Partnoy’s The Match King—which should be required reading for every financial whiz or businessman who claims to be performing due diligence on a too-good-to-be-true investment opportunity—is not just a proof of that truism but a painfully captivating account of just how easily those suckers are found and fleeced by the Madoffs of the world.”


Product Description
At the height of the roaring ?20s, Swedish ?migr? Ivar Kreuger made a fortune raising money in America and loaning it to Europe in exchange for matchstick monopolies. His enterprise was a rare success story throughout the Great Depression. Yet after Kreuger?s suicide in 1932, the true nature of his empire emerged. Driven by success to adopt ever-more perilous practices, Kreuger had turned to shell companies in tax havens, fudged accounting figures, off-balance-sheet accounting, even forgery. He created a raft of innovative financial products? many of them precursors to instruments wreaking havoc in today?s markets. When his Wall Street empire collapsed, millions went bankrupt. Frank Partnoy, a frequent commentator on financial disaster for the Financial Times, New York Times, NPR, and CBS?s ?60 Minutes,? recasts the life story of a remarkable yet forgotten genius in ways that force us to re-think our ideas about the wisdom of crowds, the invisible hand, and the free and unfettered market.

About the Author
Frank Partnoy is the author of F.I.A.S.C.O.: The Inside Story of a Wall Street Trader and Infectious Greed: How Deceit and Greed Corrupted the Financial Markets. He has worked as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and a corporate lawyer, and has testified as an expert before both the United States Senate and House of Representatives. A graduate of Yale Law School, he currently teaches law at the University of San Diego.