Swedish entrepreneur Ivar Kreuger built a fortune selling matches. He used this money to build a world famous financial empire that bankrolled whole countries. France borrowed from Kreuger. Germany borrowed from Krueger. He was crowned "The Match King" and ruled Wall Street in the 1920s.
But Kreuger's business was about to burn to the ground. The Swede had been using shady - even criminal - methods to move money around his empire and the good times came to an end. The discovery of Kreuger's crimes created chaos, but also proved pivotal in the creation of America's modern financial safeguards.
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