Playing with Fire: Ivar Kreuger - Business Genius or Master Fraudster?
Podcast:Great Business Stories Published On: Fri Mar 01 2024 Description: This is the fascinating story of Ivar Kreuger, the most famous Swedish person and probably the most successful business person you’ve never heard of. In his prime during the roaring twenties Ivar built up a fortune worth $100 billion in today’s money He invented many of the financial instruments that are still being used to this day- the stocks and bonds of his companies were the most widely held securities in the world He lent billions to cash strapped governments and became a personal advisor to the US president. And yet, if you google him now, he’s mentioned in the same breath as Charles Ponzi and Bernie Madoff Was Ivar a scam artist or one of the most brilliant business minds of the 20th century? Or was he both?