Adelheid Luise "Adele" Spitzeder ([ˈaË dlÌ©haɪt Ê"aˈdeË lÉ™
ˈʃpɪtËŒtseË dÉ ]; 9 February 1832 â€" 27 or 28 October 1895), also
known by her stage name Adele Vio, was a German actress, folk singer,
and con artist. Initially a promising young actress, Spitzeder became
a well-known private banker in 19th-century Munich when her theatrical
success dwindled. Running what was possibly the first recorded Ponzi
scheme, she offered large returns on investments by continually using
the money of new investors to pay back the previous ones. At the
height of her success, contemporary sources considered her the
wealthiest woman in Bavaria.Opening her bank in 1869, Spitzeder
managed to fend off attempts to discredit her for a few years before
authorities were able to bring her to trial in 1872. Because Ponzi
schemes were not yet illegal, she was convicted instead of bad
accounting and mishandling customers' money and sentenced to three
years in prison. Her bank was closed and 32,000 people lost 38 million
gulden, the equivalent of almost 400 million euros in 2017 money,
causing a wave of suicides. Her personal fortune in art and cash was
stripped from her.After her release from prison in 1876, Spitzeder
lived off benefactors and unsuccessfully tried to act again in Altona
and Berlin. She left Germany for Vienna but police there prevented her
engagement, so she returned to Munich in 1878 to publish her memoir.
She was arrested again in 1880 for attempting to open a new bank
without having the necessary permits but later released without
charges. Spitzeder performed as a folk singer, living off friends and
benefactors, but she never left her criminal life completely behind
her, resulting in further trials and periods of incarceration. She
died of cardiac arrest on 27 or 28 October 1895 in Munich.
ˈʃpɪtËŒtseË dÉ ]; 9 February 1832 â€" 27 or 28 October 1895), also
known by her stage name Adele Vio, was a German actress, folk singer,
and con artist. Initially a promising young actress, Spitzeder became
a well-known private banker in 19th-century Munich when her theatrical
success dwindled. Running what was possibly the first recorded Ponzi
scheme, she offered large returns on investments by continually using
the money of new investors to pay back the previous ones. At the
height of her success, contemporary sources considered her the
wealthiest woman in Bavaria.Opening her bank in 1869, Spitzeder
managed to fend off attempts to discredit her for a few years before
authorities were able to bring her to trial in 1872. Because Ponzi
schemes were not yet illegal, she was convicted instead of bad
accounting and mishandling customers' money and sentenced to three
years in prison. Her bank was closed and 32,000 people lost 38 million
gulden, the equivalent of almost 400 million euros in 2017 money,
causing a wave of suicides. Her personal fortune in art and cash was
stripped from her.After her release from prison in 1876, Spitzeder
lived off benefactors and unsuccessfully tried to act again in Altona
and Berlin. She left Germany for Vienna but police there prevented her
engagement, so she returned to Munich in 1878 to publish her memoir.
She was arrested again in 1880 for attempting to open a new bank
without having the necessary permits but later released without
charges. Spitzeder performed as a folk singer, living off friends and
benefactors, but she never left her criminal life completely behind
her, resulting in further trials and periods of incarceration. She
died of cardiac arrest on 27 or 28 October 1895 in Munich.
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