The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower Twice

I would say no, because the tower is not for sale. But in 1925, a man sold it to a scrap metal dealer. Then he came back and tried to sell it again.我会说不，因为那座塔根本不卖。但在 1925 年，有个人把它卖给了一位废金属商人。然后他又回来，想再卖一次。

That is the story of Victor Lustig. And the strangest part is not that he did it. It is that his first victim was too embarrassed to tell the police.这就是维克多·卢斯蒂格的故事。最奇怪的不是他做到了，而是他的第一个受害者太羞愧，没去报警。

The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair. It was never meant to stay forever. The plan was to keep it for 20 years.埃菲尔铁塔是为 1889 年世界博览会建的。它本来就不打算永远留在那里。计划是保留 20 年。

Exactly. But the tower was also useful. Its height made it perfect for radio. So it stayed. By 1925, it was old, rusty, and expensive to paint.没错。但这座塔也很有用。它的高度让它非常适合做无线电。所以它留了下来。到 1925 年，它已经老旧、生锈，而且粉刷费用很高。

Yes. A newspaper asked whether the city should just sell the tower as scrap. Scrap metal is old metal that gets melted down and used again.是的。一家报纸问，市政府是不是干脆把塔当废金属卖掉算了。废金属就是被熔掉再利用的旧金属。

He did. Lustig was born in 1890 in Austria-Hungary. He spoke several languages. He was elegant, charming, and he had a thin scar on his cheek.是的。卢斯蒂格 1890 年出生在奥匈帝国。他会说好几种语言。他优雅、有魅力，脸颊上有一道细细的疤。

That was his greatest skill. He looked like someone you could trust. He was a con man. A con man gets money by tricking people.这正是他最厉害的本事。他看起来像那种你可以信任的人。他是个骗子。骗子靠欺骗别人拿钱。

He would pretend to be a government official. He printed fake letters with an official seal. Then he rented a room at a grand Paris hotel, the Hôtel de Crillon.他打算假扮成政府官员。他印了带官方印章的假信件。然后他在巴黎一家豪华酒店——克里雍酒店——租了一个房间。

Very true. He invited five or six top scrap metal dealers to a secret meeting. He told them he was a senior official in the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs.非常对。他邀请五六位顶级废金属商人参加一场秘密会议。他告诉他们，自己是邮电部的高级官员。

He said the tower was too expensive to keep. The government had decided to tear it down. The 7,300 tons of iron would go to the highest bidder.他说这座塔维护成本太高。政府已经决定把它拆掉。7300 吨铁将卖给出价最高的人。

Because he made it feel official. He even took the dealers to the tower. Workers were there, measuring and painting. Lustig told them the workers were preparing for demolition.因为他让这件事显得很正式。他甚至带商人们去了铁塔。那里有工人在测量和粉刷。卢斯蒂格告诉他们，工人是在为拆除做准备。

Exactly. One dealer, André Poisson, wanted the deal very badly. He was new to Paris and wanted to be seen as a big businessman.没错。有一位商人叫安德烈·泊松，非常想要这笔交易。他刚到巴黎，希望被视为大商人。

Yes. Lustig said he could make sure Poisson won. But Poisson would need to pay him a little extra, under the table. A bribe of about 70,000 francs.是的。卢斯蒂格说他可以确保泊松中标。但泊松得私下多给他一点钱。大约 7 万法郎的贿赂。

He paid for the tower and the bribe. He got a beautiful bill of sale. Then Lustig took the money and left for Vienna.他付了塔的钱和贿赂。他拿到了一份漂亮的销售合同。然后卢斯蒂格带着钱去了维也纳。

He did, later. He went to the ministry with his papers. The people there laughed at him. There was no such sale.后来查了。他拿着文件去了邮电部。那里的人嘲笑他。根本不存在这笔交易。

No. He was too ashamed. He did not want all of Paris to know that he had been fooled. So he said nothing.没有。他太羞愧了。他不想让全巴黎的人知道自己被骗了。所以他什么也没说。

And it worked. Some months later, Lustig came back to Paris and tried the same trick with a new group of dealers.而且奏效了。几个月后，卢斯蒂格回到巴黎，用同样的手法骗另一批商人。

Not this time. One of the dealers checked before paying. The police became involved. Lustig escaped to the United States.这次没有。其中一位商人付钱前查了一下。警察介入了。卢斯蒂格逃到了美国。

That is the honest version. But the story people remember is simpler: the man who sold the Eiffel Tower twice.这是诚实的版本。但人们记住的故事更简单：那个把埃菲尔铁塔卖了两次的男人。

He sold a machine he called a money box. He said it could copy a $100 bill. It was really a wooden box with a real bill hidden inside.他卖了一种他称为“印钞机”的机器。他说它能复制 100 美元钞票。其实那只是个木箱，里面藏着一张真钞。

Many people. He also met Al Capone, one of the most dangerous gangsters in America. Lustig borrowed $50,000 from him.很多人。他还见了阿尔·卡彭，美国最危险的匪徒之一。卢斯蒂格向他借了 5 万美元。

It was. But Lustig kept the money safe for two months, then returned all of it. He said the deal had failed. Capone was impressed by his honesty.确实。但卢斯蒂格把钱安全地放了两个月，然后全部还了回去。他说那笔生意失败了。卡彭被他的“诚实”打动了。

Exactly. Then Lustig said he had no money left. Capone gave him $5,000 to help him. That was the real con.没错。然后卢斯蒂格说自己没钱了。卡彭给了他 5000 美元帮他。这才是真正的骗局。

A feeling that he was dealing with an honest man. That was always his best product.一种“自己在和一个诚实的人打交道”的感觉。那一直是他最好的产品。

The Secret Service caught him in 1935. He was making fake money. He was sent to Alcatraz prison and died there in 1947.1935 年，特勤局抓到了他。他当时在制造假钞。他被送进恶魔岛监狱，1947 年死在那里。

It is still there. It was never for sale. Lustig never owned even one small piece of it.它还立在那里。它从来没有被出售。卢斯蒂格连一小块铁都没有拥有过。

It says salesman.上面写的是“推销员”。

Maybe the most honest thing he ever wrote. Thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.也许那是他写过的最诚实的一句话。谢谢收听，我们下期见。