The Match King Ivar Kreuger, the Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals

A nearly century-old Wall Street scandal rooted in unscrupulous investment banking and derivative hedge funds techniques developed by one man--Swedish âemigrâe and notorious charmer Ivar Kreuger. Kreuger made his fortune in the 1920s by raising money from American investors to lend to European governments in exchange for match monopolies. After the collapse of 1929, he continued to make money. Then in 1932 he suddenly committed suicide. As his fraudulent schemes unraveled in the wake of his death, the so-called "Kreuger crash" began, bankrupting millions and leading to the enactment of the securities laws of 1933 and 1934.