The Five Thousand Dollars

One day in 1926, a tall, impeccably dressed man paid a visit to Al Capone, the most feared gangster of his time.

With a polished European accent, the man introduced himself as Count Victor Lustig. He told Capone he had a proposition: if Capone entrusted him with fifty thousand dollars, he could double the money.

Capone had more than enough cash to cover the “investment,” but he was not in the habit of handing large sums to strangers. Still, he studied the Count carefully. There was something different about him: his refined style, his manners, the quiet confidence with which he carried himself. Capone decided to take the gamble.

He counted the bills himself and handed them over.

“All right, Count,” Capone said. “Double it in sixty days, like you said.”

Lustig left with the money, placed it in a safe-deposit box in Chicago, and went to New York, where he had other schemes already in motion.

The fifty thousand dollars sat untouched in the bank. Lustig made no attempt to double it.

Two months later, he returned to Chicago, retrieved the money, and went back to see Capone. Under the blank stares of Capone’s bodyguards, Lustig offered an embarrassed smile.

“I am sorry, Mr. Capone,” he said. “I regret to tell you the plan failed. I failed.”

Capone rose slowly from his chair. He stared at Lustig with a look that suggested he was already deciding which part of the river to throw him into.

But before Capone could speak, the Count reached into his coat, pulled out the fifty thousand dollars, and laid it on the table.

“Here is your money, sir. Every last cent. Once again, my sincerest apologies. This is deeply embarrassing. Things did not go as I expected. I would have loved to double the money for you and for myself—God knows I needed it—but the plan simply did not work.”

Capone sank back into his chair, confused.

“I know you’re a con man, Count,” he said. “I knew it the moment you walked in. I expected either a hundred thousand dollars or nothing at all. But this… getting my money back… well.”

“My apologies again, Mr. Capone,” Lustig said, taking his hat and preparing to leave.

“My God,” Capone shouted. “You’re honest!”

He paused, then reached into the stack of bills.

“If you’re in trouble, take five thousand. Let it help you for now.”

Capone peeled off fifty one-hundred-dollar bills and handed them to him.

The Count looked stunned. He bowed deeply, murmured his thanks, and left with the money.

The five thousand dollars had been Lustig’s goal from the very beginning.