Although the participants in the saga are not alive, I benefited from numerous discussions and correspondence from several people, some lengthy and others too brief. I am especially grateful to Jonas Ångström, Peter Bevelin, Dale Flesher, Jan Glete, Edward Greenbaum, Axel Hagberg, Maud Hallin, Håkan Lindgren, George Thiel, Henry Tricks, and Ulla Wikander. Laura Adams, Rex Adams, Kent Greenfield, Mark Jackson, Shaun Martin, Christopher McKenna, Larry Mitchell, Michael Pettis, David Skeel, and Adam Winkler gave insightful comments on early drafts.
I also benefited from watching the 1932 film The Match King (First National Pictures), which does not refer to Ivar Kreuger by name, but obviously is based on Ivar’s life and death. I would caution anyone, though, to take that story with several shovels of salt.
I am grateful to the library staff at the University of San Diego School of Law, and particularly to John Adkins and Sushila Selness. Several students provided invaluable research assistance, especially Kelly Babb and Stefan Cap. I also appreciate the support of Dean Kevin Cole.
Finally, I want to thank Andrew Franklin, who has stood by me faithfully and with good humor, even as I insist on writing about increasingly obscure topics. I am especially grateful to Clive Priddle and Niki Papadopoulos at PublicAffairs for having the courage to embrace Ivar’s story and the wisdom to help me tell it. I’m honored to be published by Profile Books and PublicAffairs, and I want to thank everyone at both houses. As always, I appreciate the encouragement, advice, and criticism of Theresa Park, my superstar agent. Thanks to all of you for sticking with this project.
I have included a bibliography of useful sources below. I have relied on many other books and articles, including my own research in other settings. The purpose of this bibliography is not to be comprehensive, but to set forth the most relevant and helpful materials directly related to Ivar’s story, and to this book. Minor articles relied on in the book are cited only in the endnotes and are not listed in the bibliography.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Archives
National Archives of Sweden - Riksarkivet, Arninge, Sweden (“Riksarkivet”).
Regional Archives of Sweden - Landsarkivet, Vadstena, Sweden (“Vadstena”).
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (“Princeton”).
The Match Museum, Jönköping, Sweden (“Match Museum”).
The Morgan Library & Museum Reading Room, New York, New York (“Morgan Library”).
The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries - Klein, Hinds & Finke Records, Gainesville, Florida (“Klein, Hinds & Finke”).
Books and book chapters
Adams, Jr, Russell B., The Boston Money Tree (Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1977).
Allen, Frederick Lewis, Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s (Harper & Row, 1931).
Allen, Frederick Lewis, The Great Pierpont Morgan (Harper & Brothers, 1949).
Allen, Trevor, Ivar Kreuger, Match King, Croesus and Crook (John Long, Ltd, 1932).
Anderson, Ingvar, A History of Sweden (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1955).
Ångström, Lars-Jonas, Därför Mördades Ivar Kreuger (Sellin & Blomquist, 1990).
Ångström, Lars-Jonas, Översättning (unpublished manuscript).
Berle, Adolf A., Jr & Gardiner C. Means, The Modern Corporation and Private Property (Macmillan, 1932).
Bernstein, Peter L., Capital Ideas: The Improbable Origins of Modern Wall Street (John Wiley, 1992).
Bjerre, Poul Carl, Kreuger (Natur och Kultur, 1932).
Brooks, John, Once in Golconda: A True Drama of Wall Street 1920-1938, at 82 (John Wiley, 1969).
Burk, Kathleen, “The House of Morgan in Financial Diplomacy - 1920-1930,” in B. J. McKercher, ed., The Struggle for Supremacy: Anglo-American Relations in the 1920s (Macmillan, 1987).
Chernow, Ron, The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance (Simon & Schuster, 1990).
Churchill, Allen, The Incredible Ivar Kreuger (Rinehart & Company, Inc., 1957).
Deeson, A. F. L., Great Swindlers: A Fascinating Collection of Some of the World’s Most Incredible Frauds, at 120 (Drake Publishers, 1972).
Drachenfels, Kurt, The Real Ivar Kreuger (United Press, 1933).
Edwards, George W., The Evolution of Finance Capitalism (Longmans, Green and Co., 1938).
Eichengreen, Barry, Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression 1919-1939 (Oxford University Press, 1992).
Galbraith, John Kenneth, The Great Crash 1929 (Houghton Mifflin, 1954).
Geisst, Charles R., Wall Street: A History (Oxford University Press, 1997).
Georg, Manfred, The Case of Ivar Kreuger (Jonathan Cape, 1933).
Glete, Jan, Kreugerkoncerne och Boliden (LiberFörlag, 1975).
Glete, Jan, Kreugerkoncernen och Krisen På Svensk Aktiemarknad (Almqvist & Wiksell, 1981).
Graham, Benjamin and David L. Dodd, Security Analysis (Whittlesey House, 1934).
Hassbring, Lars, The International Development of the Swedish Match Company, 1917-1924 (LiberFörlag, 1979).
Keynes, John Maynard, The Economic Consequences of the Peace (Harcourt, Brace & Howe, 1920).
Kindleberger, Charles P., Manias, Panics and Crashes (John Wiley, 1978).
Kreuger, Torsten, The Truth About Ivar Kreuger (Seewald, 1968).
Lefèvre, Edwin, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (George H. Doran and Company, 1923).
Lindgren, Håkan, Corporate Growth: The Swedish Match Industry in Its Global Setting (LiberFörlag, 1979).
Loewe, Walter, Arne Jansson, and Carl Magnus Rosell, From Swedish Matches to Swedish Match: Sweden’s Match Industry 1836-1996 (Wahlström & Widstrand, 1997).
Mackay, Charles, Extraordinary Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (Harriman House, 2003).
Marcosson, Isaac Frederick, Turbulent Years (Books for Libraries Press, 1938).
Markham, Jerry W., A Financial History of the United States (M. E. Sharpe, 2002).
Mitchell, Lawrence E., The Speculation Economy: How Finance Triumphed Over Industry (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2007).
Moberg, Vilhelm, A History of the Swedish People: From Renaissance to Revolution (Dorset Press, 1971).
Modig, Hans, Swedish Match Interests in British India During the Interwar Years (LiberFörlag, 1979).
Partnoy, Frank, Infectious Greed: How Deceit and Risk Corrupted the Financial Markets (Profile, 2003).
Rand, Ayn, Night of January 16th (Plume, 1971).
Ripley, William Z., Main Street and Wall Street (Little Brown & Co., 1927).
Scott, Franklin D., Sweden: The Nation’s History (Southern Illinois University Press, 1988).
Seligman, Joel, The Transformation of Wall Street: A History of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Modern Corporate Finance (Houghton Mifflin, 1982).
Shaplen, Robert, Kreuger: Genius and Swindler (Alfred A. Knopf, 1960).
Soloveychik, George, The Financier: The Life of Ivar Kreuger (Peter Davies, 1933).
Sparling, Earl, Kreuger’s Billion Dollar Bubble (Greenberg, 1932).
Stolpe, Sven, Ivar Kreuger Mördad? (Médans, 1955).
Stoneman, William H., The Life and Death of Ivar Kreuger (The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1932).
Strouse, Jean, Morgan: American Financier (Random House, 1999).
Thunholm, Lars-Erik, trans. George Thiel, Ivar Kreuger: The Match King (T. Fischer & Co., 1995).
Train, John, Famous Financial Fiascos (Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1985).
Wasik, John F., The Merchant of Power: Sam Insull, Thomas Edison, and the Creation of the Modern Metropolis (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006).
Wikander, Ulla, Kreuger’s Match Monopolies, 1925-1930: Case Studies in Market Control Through Public Monopolies (LiberFörlag, 1979).
Wilkins, Mira, The History of Foreign Investment in the United States, 1914-1945 (Harvard University Press, 2004).
Zuckoff, Mitchell, Ponzi’s Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend (Random House, 2005).
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Articles
Austin, K. L., “Ivar Kreuger’s Story in Light of Five Years,” The New York Times, Mar. 7, 1937.
Barman, T. G., “Ivar Kreuger: His Life and Work,” The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 150, Aug. 1932, at 238-50.
Blystone, Richard, “The Crash Heard ‘Round the World,’” The Associated Press, Oct. 29, 1979, AM Cycle.
Cannon, Arthur M., “Kreuger, Genius and Swindler,” Journal of Accountancy, Sep. 1961, at 94.
Childs, Marquis W., “Sweden: Where Capitalism is Controlled,” Harper’s Magazine, vol. 167, Nov. 1933, at 749.
Citron, Bernhard, “America Sinks; Russia Rises,” Litter’s Living Age, Jun. 1932, at 315.
Crum, W. L. and J. B. Hubbard, “Review of the First Quarter of 1932,” Review of Economic Statistics, vol. 14, May 15, 1932, at 66-73.
Done, Kevin, “Swedish Match Strikes Back in Royal Style,” Financial Times, Mar. 31, 1987, at 6.
Fane, Malachy, “The Swedish Juggler,” New Republic, vol. 71, Jul. 13, 1932, at 239.
“Financial World Not Yet Sure What Kreuger Suicide Means,” Business Week, Mar. 19, 1932, at 5.
Flesher, Dale L. and Tonya K. Flesher, “Ivar Kreuger’s Contribution to Financial Reporting,” Accounting Review, vol. 61, no. 3, Jul. 1986, at 421-34.
Flynn, John T., “Kreuger: Another Holding Company Debacle,” New Republic, vol. 71, May 25, 1932.
“Four Masters of Fraud,” Newsweek, vol. 49, Apr. 11, 1957, at 94.
Galbraith, John Kenneth, “How to Become an International Swindler,” Reporter, vol. 16, Mar. 21, 1957, at 45.
“German Matches; Strike a Light,” Economist, Jan. 22, 1983, at 66.
Hertzberg, Sidney, “Aftermath of the Kreuger Crash,” Current History, vol. 39, Nov. 1933, at 239.
Hertzberg, Sidney, “Ivar Kreuger’s Liabilities,” Current History, vol. 37, Nov. 1932, at 233.
“High Finance: The House of Matches,” Time, vol. 46, Nov. 5, 1945, at 88.
“Kreuger Finale,” Time, vol. 28, Jul. 13, 1936, at 66.
Labaton, Stephen, “Archives of Business: A Rogues Gallery; Ivar Kreuger: Sweden’s Match King,” The New York Times, Dec. 7, 1986, sect. 3, at 23.
Lambert, Richard, “Shady Dealings on the Grandest Scale,” Financial Times, Aug. 15, 1984, at 9.
Lazar, Maria, “Is Kreuger Dead?,” Littell’s Living Age, vol. 344, Mar. 1933.
Lebergott, Stanley, “The Shape of the Income Distribution,” American Economic Review, vol. 49, Jun. 1959, at 328.
Lewinsohn, Richard, “Second Thoughts on Kreuger,” Littell’s Living Age, Jun. 1932, at 318.
Lundberg, Erik, “The Rise and Fall of the Swedish Model,” Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 23, Mar. 1985, at 1.
Lyons, Eugene, “Interviewing the Titans,” Saturday Review of Literature, vol. 18, Oct. 22, 1938, at 6.
Marcosson, Isaac F., “An Interview with Ivar Kreuger,” Saturday Evening Post, Apr. 2, 1932, at 3-5.
Marcosson, Isaac F., “The Match King,” Saturday Evening Post, Oct. 12, 1929, at 3-4.
Marcosson, Isaac F., “The Swedish Recovery,” Saturday Evening Post, Feb. 22, 1936, at 23.
“Matches: Cigarettes Light Way for Continued Diamond Profits,” Newsweek, vol. 7, Jun. 13, 1936, at 34.
Olson, Alma Luise, “Kreuger is Called Victim of System,” The New York Times, Mar. 26, 1933, at 2.
Picton, John, “The Death of the World’s Greatest Swindler,” Toronto Star, Aug. 21, 1988, at A0.
Ross, Nancy L., “Yesterday’s Financial Failures, Today’s Successful Souvenirs,” Washington Post, Mar. 1, 1981, at F1.
Rydbeck, Oscar, “Was Kreuger Crazy?,” Littell’s Living Age, Jun. 1932, at 321.
Shaplen, Robert, “Annals of Crime: Kreuger - I,” New Yorker, vol. 35, Sep. 26, 1959, at 51.
Shaplen, Robert, “Annals of Crime: Kreuger - II,” New Yorker, vol. 35, Oct. 3, 1959, at 108.
Shaplen, Robert, “Annals of Crime: Kreuger - III,” New Yorker, vol. 35, Oct. 10, 1959, at 51.
Simons, Rodger L., “The Garden of Sweden,” North American Review, vol. 238, Nov. 1938, at 414.
Smith, Geoffrey, “The Legacy of Ivar Kreuger,” Forbes, vol. 136, Dec. 2, 1985, at 143.
Soloveychik, George, “The Tragedy of Ivar Kreuger,” Nineteenth Century, vol. 111, Apr. 1932, at 421.
“Swedish Stockmarket; Too Hot to Handle,” Economist, Apr. 30, 1983, at 106.
Taylor, J. R., “Some Antecedents of the Securities and Exchange Commission,” Accounting Review, vol. 16, Jun. 1941.
“The Diamond Match Co.,” Fortune, vol. 19, May 1939.
“The Kreuger Case Again,” New Republic, vol. 73, Jan. 25, 1933, at 284.
“The Kreuger Saga,” Littell’s Living Age, vol. 355, Feb. 1939.
“The Passing of Ivar Kreuger,” Literary Digest, Mar. 26, 1932, at 56.
“The Week,” New Republic, Mar. 23, 1932, at 1.
“The World Over,” Littell’s Living Age, vol. 342, May 1932, at 189.
Thompson, Howard and Anita Gates, “Movies: Critics’ Choice,” The New York Times, Dec. 5, 1999, at 6.
Thompson, Ralph, “Sweden’s Losses in Kreuger Crash,” Current History, vol. 36, Jul. 1932, at 501.
Thompson, Ralph, “The Unfolding of the Kreuger Scandal,” Current History, vol. 36, Jun. 1932, at 361.
Unstad, Lyder L., “Sweden: The Middle Way,” American Economic Review, vol. 26, Jun. 1936, at 304.
Visser, W. A., “Who was Ivar Kreuger?,” Christian Century, vol. 49, May 11, 1932, at 617.
Webb, Sara, “Stora Offers 541 M Pounds for Swedish Match,” Financial Times, Mar. 10, 1988, at 48.
“Why the House of Kreuger Fell,” Literary Digest, vol. 115, Feb. 4, 1933, at 40.
Whyte, Frederic, “An Interpretation of Ivar Kreuger,” Contemporary Review, vol. 143, Apr. 1933, at 465.
Winkler, Max, “Playing with Matches,” in Foreign Bonds: An Autopsy, (Beard Books, 1999), at 93-103.
Winterich, John T., “Swindler Extraordinary,” Saturday Review, vol. 40, Feb. 2, 1957, at 20.
“World’s Greatest Swindler,” Time, vol. 69, Jan. 28, 1957, at 106.
Wuorinen, John H., “Kreuger’s Vanished Millions,” Current History, vol. 26, May 1932, at 241.
Zeff, Stephen A., “How the US Accounting Profession Got Where It is Today: Part I,” Accounting Horizons, vol. 17, no. 3, Sep. 2003, at 189-205.
Government publications
Congressional Record, House, Apr. 18, 1932 (US Government Printing Office, 1932).
Congressional Record, House, May 4, 1933 (US Government Printing Office, 1933).
Congressional Record, House, Jul. 13, 1932 (US Government Printing Office, 1932).
Congressional Record, House, May 11, 1933 (US Government Printing Office, 1933).
Stock Exchange Practices, Senate Committee Report (US Government Printing Office, 1933).
Testimony of A.D. Berning, Stock Exchange Practices, Senate Committee Report, at 1249 (US Government Printing Office, 1933).
Testimony of Donald Durant, Stock Exchange Practices, Senate Committee Report, at 1146 (US Government Printing Office, 1933).
Testimony of George O. May, Stock Exchange Practices, Senate Committee Report, at 1260 (US Government Printing Office, 1933).
NOTES
Chapter 1
1 Churchill, at 108-13; Shaplen, at 66-8.
2 Loewe et al., at 238, 241, 247.
3 M. S. Dimand, “Mediaeval Textiles of Sweden,” Art Bulletin, vol. 6, no. 1 (Sep. 1923), at 11-16.
4 Louis Mancini, Monsters of the Sea: The Great Ocean Liners of Time, http:// www.ocean-liners.com (2007). RMS Berengaria has a celebrated, and somewhat unusual, history. She was launched on May 23, 1912, as SS Imperator, and was sold out in all classes for several trips between Cuxhaven and New York. In 1914, officials of the German Imperial Navy stopped the ship from leaving harbor, citing the risk of losing a valuable ship to the enemy. The Germans then hid the ship in a harbor near the Elbe river, where she
rusted, stuck in the mud, until 1919, when the US Navy discovered her. The US Navy used the ship to transport troops home to America until 1921, when the Cunard Line bought and remodeled her and rechristened her Berengaria.
5 Shaplen, at 59-60 (quoting Carl Bergman).
6 Churchill, at 109.
7 Brooks, at 82.
8 David Cannadine, Mellon: An American Life (Alfred A. Knopf, 2006), ch. 10.
9 “About RCA: The Radio Corporation of America,” http://home.rca.com/ en-US/PressReleaseDetail.html?Cat=RCAHistory&MN=6 (2007).
10 RCA v. MSFT, http://www.gold-eagle.com (2007).
11 Loewe et al., at 13-16.
12 Kreuger, at 88b.
13 Stoneman, at 60-68.
14 Thunholm, at 33.
15 Thunholm, at 34.
16 Thunholm, at 34.
17 Barry Paris, Garbo (Alfred A. Knopf, 1995), at 43.
18 Thunholm, at 35.
19 Stoneman, at 68.
20 Mackay, at 46-97.
21 US Securities and Exchange Commission, Day Trading, http://www.sec.gov/answers/daytrading.htm (2007).
22 Jerry Markham, The History of Commodity Futures Trading and Its Regulation, (Praeger, 1987), ch. 1, n. 13.
23 Lefèvre.
24 More recent editions of the book have suggested that Edwin Lefèvre was a pseudonym for Jesse Livermore. Foreword by Jack Schwager, Edwin Lefèvre, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1994), at 7.
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