7 Facts You Didn’t Know About Pearl Harbor

7 Facts You Didn’t Know About Pearl Harbor

Seventy-seven years ago today, America was changed forever.

By Landess Kearns

Sure, we all know the date and the famous quote (Dec. 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy“) and, of course, the implications and significance (more than 2,000 Americans were killed in the attack, which launched the U.S. into World War II).

​ 1. Most of the battleships sunk that day were resurrected.

Of the eight battleships targeted during the attacks, all but two were eventually repaired and returned to the U.S. Navy’s fleet. The USS West Virginia and the USS California had both sunk completely, but the Navy raised them, repaired them and reused them. 

Furthermore, bullet holes and damage from the attacks can be seen to this day at many of the active military installations on Oahu, including Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Army Airfield and Hickam Army Air Field. Rather than being repaired or covered up, the bullet holes serve as a reminder of the lives lost that day and as motivation for our military to stand strong still.

The USS West Virginia gets towed to drydock to start repairs in 1942.

2. Veterans of the attack can be laid to rest at Pearl Harbor.

Survivors of the attack have the option to join their lost comrades and make Pearl Harbor their final resting place. Crew members who served on board the USS Arizona during the attack — the ship that experienced the most devastating damage — may choose to have their ashes deposited by divers beneath one of the sunken Arizona’s gun turrets.

Roughly 30 Arizona survivors have chosen this option and less than a dozen of the 355 survivors are still living. Other military survivors can choose to have their ashes scattered wherever their ship was located during the attacks.

The Pearl Harbor Honor Guard presents arms at the burial at sea for Chief Yeoman Guy Pierce, who was aboard the USS Utah during the Pearl Harbor attack, Dec. 6, 2003.

​3. The USS Arizona still leaks fuel.

The day before the attacks, the USS Arizona took on a full load of fuel, nearly 1.5 million gallons. Much of that fuel helped ignite the explosion and subsequent fires that destroyed the ship, but — amazingly — some fuel continues to seep out of the wreckage.

According to the History Channel, the Arizona “continues to spill up to 9 quarts of oil into the harbor each day“ and visitors often say it is as if the ship were still bleeding.

​4. Service members stationed in Hawaii took care of the memorial during the 2013 government shutdown.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pearl-harbor-anniversary-facts_n_5661ce33e4b079b2818e67b0#

87 Best Retirement Quotes: Including Funny, Short and Inspirational

87 Best Retirement Quotes: Including Funny, Short and Inspirational

Personal Finance - Janice Friedman - May 28, 2019

Do you ever think about your golden years after you leave your career? Here are some juicy retirement quotes that will help you think more about it in a different way.

Are you ready to retire? A mention of the word retirement automatically provokes many thoughts to people around. Some think of the graceful age where you enjoy all that you’ve been working for, whereas some only think of problems.

Still, some may not even want to picture it out of fear of the old age and also the loss of that fulfilling career. Various retirement quotes can change your perspective about retirement and maybe paint a different lovely picture.

Whichever the case, retirement should be happy, fulfilling, as well as healthy life later after you have saved enough to sustain you for the rest of your life.

For me, when I think of retirement, I can’t manage to think of anything less than a happy, relaxing, wealthy life full of vacations.  The hard work and painful savings of the youthful years ought to pay fully for that comfortable retirement.

List of the Best Retirement Quotes

I have compiled a good number of words of wisdom or better, what I like to call the best retirement quotes that will brighten your day.  This list of retirement quotes has been compiled from various people whose words of wisdom couldn’t go unnoticed.

Inspirational Retirement Quotes

1. “Just because you are getting older and have retired doesn’t mean that you should have less confidence in your abilities. Think about the experience and knowledge that you have gained by all the years you have worked” -Theodore W. Higginsworth

2. “Retirement: It’s nice to get out of the rat race, but you have to learn to get along with less cheese.” – Gene Perret

3. “Planning to retire? Before you do, find your hidden passion. Do the thing that you have always wanted to do.” – Catherine Pulsifer

4. “Age is only a number, a cipher for the records. A man can’t retire his experience. He must use it. Experience achieves more with less energy and time.” – Bernard Baruch 

5. “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” – Lyrics from “Closing Time” by Semisonic

6. “What does retirement mean now that there are so many opportunities for learning, for caring, for serving? We can redefine aging.” – Rachel Cowan, Wise Aging

7. “Retirement is a new beginning, and that means closing the book on one chapter to begin the next.” Sid Miramontes, Retirement: Your New Beginning

8. “Retirement gives you the time literally to recreate yourself through a sport, game, or hobby that you always wanted to try or that you haven’t done in years.” – Price, Stephen D.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://millionairemob.com/retirement-quotes/

"The Story of Rudolph" Posted by Mot at TNT

Mot:  Story of Rudolph

A man named Bob May, depressed and brokenhearted, stared out his drafty apartment window into the chilling December night.

His 4-year-old daughter Barbara sat on his lap quietly sobbing. Bobs wife, Evelyn, was dying of cancer.

Little Barbara couldn't understand why her mommy could never come home. Barbara looked up into her dad's eyes and asked, "Why isn't Mommy just like everybody else's Mommy?" Bob's jaw tightened and his eyes welled with tears.

Her question brought waves of grief, but also of anger. It had been the story of Bob's life. Life always had to be different for Bob. Small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by other boys. He was too little at the time to compete in sports. He was often called names he'd rather not remember.

From childhood, Bob was different and never seemed to fit in. Bob did complete college, married his loving wife and was grateful to get his job as a copywriter at Montgomery Ward during the Great Depression. Then he was blessed with his little girl. But it was all short-lived. Evelyn's bout with cancer stripped them of all their savings and now Bob and his daughter were forced to live in a two-room apartment in the Chicago slums. Evelyn died just days before Christmas in 1938.

Bob struggled to give hope to his child, for whom he couldn't even afford to buy a Christmas gift. But if he couldn't buy a gift, he was determined a make one - a storybook! Bob created an animal character in his own mind and told the animal's story to little Barbara to give her comfort and hope.

Again and again Bob told the story, embellishing it more with each telling. Who was the character? What was the story all about? The story Bob May created was his own autobiography in fable form. The character he created was a misfit outcast like he was. What was the name of the character? A little reindeer named Rudolph, with a big shiny nose. Bob finished the book just in time to give it to his little girl on Christmas Day. But the story doesn't end there.

The general manager of Montgomery Ward caught wind of the little storybook and offered Bob May a nominal fee to purchase the rights to print the book. Wards went on to print, ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ and distribute it to children visiting Santa Claus in their stores. By 1946 Wards had printed and distributed more than six million copies of Rudolph. That same year, a major publisher wanted to purchase the rights from Wards to print an updated version of the book.

In an unprecedented gesture of kindness, the CEO of Wards returned all rights back to Bob May. The book became a best seller. Many toy and marketing deals followed and Bob May, now remarried with a growing family, became wealthy from the story he created to comfort his grieving daughter. But the story doesn’t end there either.

Bob's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, made a song adaptation to Rudolph. Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore, it was recorded by the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ was released in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception of ‘White Christmas.’

The gift of love that Bob May created for his daughter so long ago kept on returning back to bless him again and again. And Bob May learned the lesson, just like his dear friend Rudolph, that being different isn't so bad. In fact, being different may be a blessing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44bL90HP0Ys

Types of Foreign Exchange Transactions

Types of Foreign Exchange Transactions

by William Adkins   Published on 26 Sep 2017

At its simplest, currency exchange is just the buying of the currency of one country with the currency of another country. Individuals, businesses and traders all engage in various types of foreign currency exchange transactions. Some participants in currency exchange do so as part of business dealings while others speculate on the foreign exchange (Forex) market in hopes of profiting off of exchange rate fluctuations. The main types of foreign currency exchange transactions they employ are described below.

Basic Currency Exchange

If you’ve ever traveled to a foreign country, chances are you’ve used some of your cash to buy euros, yen or whatever the local currency was. The price you paid was determined by the exchange rate between the two currencies. Your purchase is an example of the most basic type of foreign currency exchange transaction.

Currency exchange rates change continuously, mainly in response to demand for one currency relative to others. Demand for a currency in turn is affected by many factors, including differences in interest rates, inflation and monetary policy.

Forward Contracts

Financial institutions and businesses frequently want to protect themselves against possible losses due to changes in exchange rates. The forward contract is a way of doing this. A forward contract is like a futures contract except it is a private agreement, rather than an exchange-traded security. In forwards, one party agrees to buy (or sell) a foreign currency from (or to) another party. The currency is delivered at a future date at a predetermined price. A variation of this is the forward window contract. Instead of delivery on a specific date, the transaction is settled during a “window” of time between two dates.

Swaps

 To continue reading, please go to the original article here:     

https://bizfluent.com/list-6893817-techniques-exposure-management.html

"Letter in a Wallet" Posted by Mot at TNT

Mot:  ~~~~~~~ “Letter in the Wallet,” .............

As I walked home one freezing day, I stumbled on a wallet someone had lost in the street. I picked it up and looked inside to find some identification so I could call the owner. But the wallet contained only three dollars and a crumpled letter that looked as if it had been in there for years.

The envelope was worn and the only thing that was legible on it was the return address. I started to open the letter, hoping to find some clue. Then I saw the dateline--1924. The letter had been written almost sixty years ago.

It was written in a beautiful feminine handwriting on powder blue stationery with a little flower in the left-hand corner. It was a "Dear John" letter that told the recipient, whose name appeared to be Michael, that the writer could not see him any more because her mother forbade it. Even so, she wrote that she would always love him. It was signed, Hannah.

It was a beautiful letter, but there was no way except for the name Michael, that the owner could be identified. Maybe if I called information, the operator could find a phone listing for the address on the envelope.

"Operator," I began, "this is an unusual request. I'm trying to find the owner of a wallet that I found. Is there anyway you can tell me if there is a phone number for an address that was on an envelope in the wallet? 

She suggested I speak with her supervisor, who hesitated for a moment then said, "Well, there is a phone listing at that address, but I can't give you the number." She said, as a courtesy, she would call that number, explain my story and would ask them if they wanted her to connect me. I waited a few minutes and then she was back on the line. "I have a party who will speak with you."

I asked the woman on the other end of the line if she knew anyone by the name of Hannah. She gasped, "Oh! We bought this house from a family who had a daughter named Hannah. But that was 30 years ago!"

"Would you know where that family could be located now?" I asked.

"I remember that Hannah had to place her mother in a nursing home some years ago," the woman said. "Maybe if you got in touch with them they might be able to track down the daughter."

She gave me the name of the nursing home and I called the number. They told me the old lady had passed away some years ago but they did have a phone number for where they thought the daughter might be living. I thanked them and phoned. The woman who answered explained that Hannah herself was now living in a nursing home.

This whole thing was stupid, I thought to myself. Why was I making such a big deal over finding the owner of a wallet that had only three dollars and a letter that was almost 60 years old?

Nevertheless, I called the nursing home in which Hannah was supposed to be living and the man who answered the phone told me, "Yes, Hannah is staying with us. "

Even though it was already 10 p.m., I asked if I could come by to see her. "Well," he said hesitatingly, "if you want to take a chance, she might be in the day room watching television."

I thanked him and drove over to the nursing home. The night nurse and a guard greeted me at the door. We went up to the third floor of the large building. In the day room, the nurse introduced me to Hannah. 

She was a sweet, silver-haired old timer with a warm smile and a twinkle in her eye. I told her about finding the wallet and showed her the letter. The second she saw the powder blue envelope with that little flower on the left, she took a deep breath and said, "Young man, this letter was the last contact I ever had with Michael."

She looked away for a moment deep in thought and then said Softly, "I loved him very much. But I was only 16 at the time and my mother felt I was too young. Oh, he was so handsome. He looked like Sean Connery, the actor."

"Yes," she continued. "Michael Goldstein was a wonderful person. If you should find him, tell him I think of him often. And," she hesitated for a moment, almost biting her lip, "tell him I still love him. You know," she said smiling as tears began to well up in her eyes, "I never did marry. I guess no one ever matched up to Michael..."

I thanked Hannah and said goodbye. I took the elevator to the first floor and as I stood by the door, the guard there asked, "Was the old lady able to help you?"

I told him she had given me a lead. "At least I have a last name. But I think I'll let it go for a while. I spent almost the whole day trying to find the owner of this wallet."

I had taken out the wallet, which was a simple brown leather case with red lacing on the side. When the guard saw it, he said, "Hey, wait a minute! That's Mr. Goldstein's wallet. I'd know it anywhere with that bright red lacing. He's always losing that wallet. I must have found it in the halls at least three times."

"Who's Mr. Goldstein?" I asked as my hand began to shake.

"He's one of the old timers on the 8th floor. That's Mike Goldstein's wallet for sure. He must have lost it on one of his walks." I thanked the guard and quickly ran back to the nurse's office. I told her what the guard had said. We went back to the elevator and got on. I prayed that Mr. Goldstein would be up.

On the eighth floor, the floor nurse said, "I think he's still in the day room. He likes to read at night. He's a darling old man."

We went to the only room that had any lights on and there was a man reading a book. The nurse went over to him and asked if he had lost his wallet. Mr. Goldstein looked up with surprise, put his hand in his back pocket and said, "Oh, it is missing!"

"This kind gentleman found a wallet and we wondered if it could be yours?"

I handed Mr. Goldstein the wallet and the second he saw it, he smiled with relief and said, "Yes, that's it! It must have dropped out of my pocket this afternoon. I want to give you a reward."

"No, thank you," I said. "But I have to tell you something. I read the letter in the hope of finding out who owned the wallet."

The smile on his face suddenly disappeared. "You read that letter?"

"Not only did I read it, I think I know where Hannah is."

He suddenly grew pale. "Hannah? You know where she is? How is she? Is she still as pretty as she was? Please, please tell me," he begged.

"She's fine...just as pretty as when you knew her." I said softly.

The old man smiled with anticipation and asked, "Could you tell me where she is? I want to call her tomorrow." He grabbed my hand and said, "You know something, mister, I was so in love with that girl that when that letter came, my life literally ended. I never married. I guess I've always loved her."

"Mr. Goldstein," I said, "Come with me."

We took the elevator down to the third floor. The hallways were darkened and only one or two little night-lights lit our way to the day room where Hannah was sitting alone watching the television. The nurse walked over to her.

"Hannah," she said softly, pointing to Michael, who was waiting with me in the doorway. "Do you know this man?"

She adjusted her glasses, looked for a moment, but didn't say a word.

Michael said softly, almost in a whisper, "Hannah, it's Michael. Do you remember me?"

She gasped, "Michael! I don't believe it! Michael! It's you! My Michael!"

He walked slowly towards her and they embraced. The nurse and I left with tears streaming down our faces.

"See," I said. "See how the Good Lord works! If it's meant to be, it will be."

About three weeks later I got a call at my office from the nursing home. "Can you break away on Sunday to attend a wedding? Michael and Hannah are going to tie the knot!"

It was a beautiful wedding with all the people at the nursing home dressed up to join in the celebration. Hannah wore a light beige dress and looked beautiful. Michael wore a dark blue suit and stood tall.

They made me their best man. The hospital gave them their own room and if you ever wanted to see a 76-year-old bride and a 79-year-old groom acting like two teenagers, you had to see this couple.

A perfect ending for a love affair that had lasted nearly 60 years.

“Letter in the Wallet,” written by Arnold Fine (1985)

4 Common Thanksgiving Myths And The Real Facts Behind Them

VERIFY: 4 Common Thanksgiving Myths And The Real Facts Behind Them

Author: VERIFY, Terry Spry Jr.

The VERIFY team separated fact from fiction on 4 popular Thanksgiving myths including who started the turkey pardoning tradition and how Black Friday got its name.

Thanksgiving is almost here and with the annual festivities also comes years upon years of myths that have developed around one of the biggest holidays of the year for Americans. The myths, misconceptions and legends around Thanksgiving predate the internet, yet have persisted in the digital world all the same. Here are four common Thanksgiving myths, all of which are false, and the truth behind the holiday weekend’s various stories.

MYTH: Thanksgiving has been celebrated every year since the nation’s founding

According to the National Archives, George Washington issued a proclamation that named Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a "Day of Publick Thanksgivin".

At that point, however, Thanksgiving wasn’t codified into law as an annual holiday. It was up to the sitting president to declare a day of “Thanksgiving and Prayer” and set the day and month for the holiday. And there were some years where no such day was declared.

For example, Thomas Jefferson opted against it while president. Monticello says Jefferson was against it because of his beliefs in separating religion from the government. Back then, Thanksgiving days were more religious-focused holidays.

Thanksgiving was established as one of the first four federal holidays in 1870, when Congress passed the Holiday Act. That law established Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day and Independence Day as holidays, but Thanksgiving was the only one where the president had the discretion to set the date each year.

By that time, Thanksgiving already had an informal date. Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation set Thanksgiving as the last Thursday in November and subsequent presidents had followed that precedent.

However, Thanksgiving would have fallen on the last day of the month in 1939, so Franklin Roosevelt moved it to the month’s second-to-last Thursday because he worried a shortened Christmas season would dampen the nation’s recovery from the Great Depression. Some states defied the president’s move and made it state law that Thanksgiving was the last Thursday and so Congress sought to set a fixed date for the holiday to combat the confusion. A law was passed in 1941 that set Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday of November.

MYTH: Presidential turkey pardoning began with Abraham Lincoln or Harry Truman

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/verify/verify-tackling-common-thanksgiving-myths/507-e580ed91-8abc-47e0-8ffa-2b93a357bbeb

35 Thanksgiving Quotes That Capture the True Meaning of the Day

35 Thanksgiving Quotes That Capture the True Meaning of the Day

By Annie O’sullivan And Kelsey Hurwitz 

When it comes to Thanksgiving, a lot of emphasis gets put on the food; and, rightfully so. Between the juicy turkey, savory sides, and sweet desserts, there are a lot of edible elements to focus on come Thanksgiving Day. But as you make your way through the day, it’s important to practice gratitude and give thanks for the good that’s come your way. (Yes, even in a year filled with a lot of bad.) One way to do that is to read a Thanksgiving quote — aloud or to yourself — that captures the true meaning of the holiday.

Now, to be clear, the origins of the holiday have dark historical roots that have more to do with colonization than appreciation. But over the years, Thanksgiving has become synonymous with thanks (I mean, it’s right in the name.) So make sure to take a moment from your busy day to give thanks.

These Thanksgiving quotes emphasize the role gratitude can play in your life — and not just one day a year. Even in the darkest of times, there is so much to be thankful for, and in a year that has included global pandemic and continued racial injustices, Thanksgiving can be a day to remember all of the good things, big and small. And make sure those in your life are doing the same.

Consider writing on of these quotes in a Thanksgiving card or incorporating them into your Thanksgiving centerpieces to bring a little extra gratitude to your meal.

“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.” — Maya Angelou

“I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” — Voltaire

“When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.” — Tecumseh

“For my part, I am almost contented just now, and very thankful. Gratitude is a divine emotion: it fills the heart, but not to bursting; it warms it, but not to fever.” — Charlotte Bronte

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” — Epictetus

  “The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time.” — Douglas Wood

“Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life.” — Rumi

“We are all more blind to what we have than to what we have not.” — Audre Lorde

“‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.” — Alice Walker

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." — Melody Beattie

"When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup." — Sam Lefkowitz

"Thanksgiving reminds us that no matter what befalls us in life, we can take the charred remnants and we can reconstruct a life unimaginably richer than that from which the shards and pieces fell." — Craig D. Lounsbrough

"Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses." — Alphonse Karr

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.womansday.com/life/g1973/thanksgiving-quotes/

The Golden Secrets Of Fort Knox Revealed

The Golden Secrets Of Fort Knox Revealed

America's gold stockpile has fueled curiosity and conspiracy theories. How much do we know?

By Doug WhitemanJun. 10, 2022

You may be aware of Fort Knox from the James Bond movie Goldfinger, or from the old cartoon where Bugs Bunny tricks Yosemite Sam into digging up some of the gold bars and getting arrested.

But what do you really know about the U.S. bullion bunker in Kentucky?

The Fort Knox gold vault is one of the most secure and secret places in America. Because few people have ever gotten inside, the gold depository is a subject of fascination and speculation.

Here are 10 things we know — and maybe don't know.

1. It Holds Tons Of Gold — Literally

Fort Knox currently houses 147.3 million ounces of gold. The government says the bullion has a "book value" of $6.22 billion.

However, that's based on a fixed price that officials set in 1973. Based on the current market value of gold, the reserves at Fort Knox are worth a far more impressive $273.7 billion, roughly speaking.

Much of the gold in the vault is in the form of 27-pound bars, while a percentage is in gold coins.

At one time, the point of having all of that gold was to provide backing for U.S. currency — but the dollar was taken off the gold standard in 1971.

2. Is The Gold Really In There?

So why does the U.S. hang onto its gold stash?

"Just in case we need it," is the explanation a former Federal Reserve Board chairman reportedly gave.

Conspiracy theorists have insisted that the government secretly sold off the gold and that the gold bars are actually tungsten bricks painted to look like the precious metal.

There's no way for outsiders to say with absolute certainty if there's really bullion — or if it's all bull. Over the years, there have been few audits to test the gold, or inventories to count it.

3. Outsiders Rarely Get Inside

In 2017, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin led a rare visit by outsiders to peek at the gold reserves inside the Fort Knox vault.

He was accompanied by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and the two of them were photographed holding gold bars.

Afterward, Mnuchin had an answer for the conspiracy mongers. "Glad gold is safe!" he tweeted.

The last time Fort Knox had opened its vault to civilians was more than 40 years earlier. A congressional delegation and some journalists got a look at the gold in 1974.

4. Only One US President Ever Got Inside

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://moneywise.com/life/lifestyle/fort-knox-secrets

Sam Bankman-Fried vs. The Match King (Enigmatic Charlatans Are As Old As Time)

Sam Bankman-Fried vs. The Match King  (Enigmatic Charlatans Are As Old As Time)

Posted November 13, 2022 by Ben Carlson

“Everything in life is founded on confidence.” – Ivar Kreuger

On October 28, 1929, Swedish businessman Ivar Kreuger appeared on the cover of Time Magazine.

He was one of the most talked about people in the United States at the time because he was rich, powerful and mysterious. Kreuger controlled three-quarters of the production and sales of matches, owning more than 200 match factories in 35 different countries all around the globe.1

The Match King, as he was called, owned a private island in the North Sea and apartments all over the world. He was friends with actress Greta Garbo and an advisor to President Herbert Hoover. Kreuger played a prominent role in the Nobel Prize ceremonies and had business dealings with world leaders and prime ministers.

The man was treated like a celebrity.

There were even plans to use his story to depict the American dream in a full feature-length film. That movie never saw the light of day because he shot and killed himself shortly thereafter as his empire of fraud came crumbling down in the Great Depression.

Before it all came to an end, he created one of the biggest business empires in the world.

Kreuger’s take-no-prisoners approach to business quickly allowed him to turn his match company, International Match Corporation, into a monopoly in the space.

Many countries were cash-strapped from their World War I debts. So Kreuger’s strategy for world domination of the match industry was to loan money to needy countries at favorable terms so government officials would allow him to buy up the match companies and factories within their borders.

The problem is International Match was only getting 6-8% in interest on those loans while Kreuger’s financial holding company was paying out double-digit dividends to investors, upwards of 15-30% in some cases.

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that spread does not make for a sustainable business model. But Kreuger was a master at deception when it came to the financials of his various holding companies.

He was the only one who knew what the actual profit and loss numbers looked like for International Match and all his various financial holding companies. In fact, Kreuger created some four hundred different off-the-book conduits to move money around and hide what was really going on.

He was so good at hiding what was really going on that his board and investors had no clue what was really going on. In fact, they had total faith in the Match King because he was so well-connected politically.

Percy Rockefeller, the nephew of John Rockefeller, was a member of the board of directors. Rockefeller gushed to other board members, “He [Kreuger] is on the most intimate terms with the heads of European Governments. Gentlemen, we are fortunate indeed to be associated with Ivar Kreuger.”

Little did Rockefeller know that Kreuger faked calls to prime ministers and presidents to prove how powerful he was.

He had some relationships but not nearly as many as his board thought.

 Kreuger’s match business was on the way out as a profitable business once electricity became more ubiquitous but the stock market was on its way in as all sorts of new and exciting financial products were created during the roaring 20s.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2022/11/sam-bankman-fried-vs-the-match-king/

The Golden Age of Fraud is Upon Us

The Golden Age of Fraud is Upon Us

Posted April 27, 2021 by Ben Carlson

A 30-something low-level actor created a business plan that would buy the rights to cheap movies and turn around and sell those rights to HBO for audiences in Latin America.  The investors backing the project were promised returns of 15% in just 6 months.  No bad in an era of 0.25% savings account yields.   Investors forked over more than $690 million to bankroll the rights to these films.

So what’s the catch?   The movie contracts with HBO were fakes, the business plan was a hoax and the entire ordeal was a Ponzi scheme where new money paid off previous investors. The money was used to provide a lavish lifestyle for the architect of the fraud, Zachary Horowitz.1

One investor claimed to have “99% of his and his family’s money” invested in Horowitz’s scheme.

*******

Thodex is a cryptocurrency trading platform in Turkey. Last week it was reported the 27-year-old founder of the exchange took a flight to Albania.

He took with him $2 billion from more than 30k clients.

Last month the company brought in hoards of new clients by offering free dogecoin to anyone that signed up.

Whoops.

*******

I don’t know if this SCAMcoin actually happened or if it’s just a social media thing but it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s real: https://twitter.com/i/status/1385365742506364929

If Charles Ponzi were alive today, I have no doubt that he would be able to raise capital from investors, probably in the form of a SPAC. Many investors would laud him for being a genius as he bilked investors out of millions of dollars.

When I was researching the history of financial scams for Don’t Fall For It the one thing that jumped out above all else is how similar financial frauds are across time and place. They typically involve new technologies, people with extraordinary sales skills and the insatiable human desire for get-rich quick schemes.

Despite the fact that people have been getting duped by hucksters and charlatans for centuries, there was one period that kept coming up over and over again in my research — the 1920s.

It was the golden age of financial fraud.

The Roaring 20s had everything a con-artist looking to dupe people out of their money could ask for — innovation, new financial products, a booming economy, rising markets, new and exciting technologies, loose lending standards, new communication tools and people getting rich all over the place.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2021/04/the-golden-age-of-fraud-is-upon-us/

Prince Philip Left Behind a Fortune After His Death

Prince Philip Left Behind a Fortune After His Death—Here’s Who Inherited It & How Much He Was Worth

Jenzia Burgos   Wed, November 9, 2022 at 3:43 PM

Following his death at the age of 99, many wondered what Prince Philip‘s net worth is and who inherited his fortune. Not unlike his wife and monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, it’s safe to say that the Duke of Edinburgh amassed a great deal of wealth over his lifetime. Below, we dive into what might happen to it now that he is no longer with us—but first, read on for a bit of background on the Iron Duke himself.  Long before he became the Queen’s husband, Philip was already born into royalty as the Prince of Greece and Denmark.

His parents, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg, were in line for the Greek throne until they were exiled when he was only eighteen months old.

Together they fled with his four eldest sisters, Princesses Cecilie, Margarita, Sophie, and Theodora, to France. There, Philip was educated in Paris (and later Germany and the United Kingdom) before eventually joining the British Royal Navy in 1939 at the age of 18.

By March of 1939, Philip was a naturalized British citizen and adopted the last name Mountbatten from his mother’s family, otherwise abandoning his Greek and Danish royal titles. It was in that year he also began exchanging letters with Queen Elizabeth, who he would later go on to marry in 1947.

On the eve of their wedding, Lieutenant Mountbatten was formally named Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron of Greenwich, and given the title of His Royal Highness.

As well as inheriting these royal titles, Prince Philip went on to amass a wide range of assets and money alongside his wife, the Queen. So how much was Prince Philip’s net worth, exactly? Read on below for Prince Philip’s net worth, along with what happened to his estate following his death at the age of 99 in April 2021.

What was Prince Philip’s salary?

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As the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip earned a royal allowance from the Sovereign Grant, an official expense account paid for by British taxpayers, of around $500,000 (or £400,000) per year.

While it’s unclear if Philip continued to receive this allowance following his retirement from official royal duties in 2017, he still maintained access to funds earned by a private portfolio of properties, lands, and assets set up by the Duchy of Lancaster in 1399. As the Queen, Her Majesty also maintained a private income from the Duchy of Lancaster estate.

Together, the couple is also believed to share a portfolio of stocks and land inherited by the Queen’s family, such as Balmoral Castle in Scotland and Sandringham Estate in England.

Who inherited Prince Philip’s estate?

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/prince-philip-left-behind-fortune-204348843.html