Greatest Scams of Stock Markets : The stock markets have made many people rich but at the same time many have lost everything.

Charles Ponzi was an Italian immigrant who promised investors a 50% return on their money in just 45 days.

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He did this by paying early investors with money from new investors, creating a pyramid scheme.

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The scheme eventually collapsed in 1920, leaving investors with losses of $20 million.

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Bernie Madoff was a former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange who ran a massive Ponzi scheme for over two decades.

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He promised investors returns of up to 12% per year, but these returns were actually paid with money from new investors.

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The scheme eventually collapsed in 2008, costing investors an estimated $65 billion.

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Enron was an energy company that used off-balance sheet accounting to hide billions of dollars in debt.

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The company's stock price eventually collapsed, leading to the bankruptcy of Enron and the loss of thousands of jobs.

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WorldCom was a telecommunications company that used accounting fraud to inflate its earnings.

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The company's stock price eventually collapsed, leading to the bankruptcy of WorldCom and the loss of thousands of jobs.

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Tyco International was a conglomerate that was run by two executives who engaged in a massive accounting fraud.

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The executives were eventually convicted of fraud and sentenced to prison.

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Bre-X Minerals was a Canadian mining company that claimed to have discovered a massive gold deposit in Indonesia.

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However, the deposit was later found to be a hoax, and the company's stock price collapsed.

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ZZZZ Best was a carpet cleaning company that was run by Barry Minkow.

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Minkow inflated the company's earnings by creating fake invoices and customer records.

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The company's stock price eventually collapsed, and Minkow was convicted of fraud.

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Harshad Mehta was a stockbroker in India who used fraudulent means to manipulate the Bombay Stock Exchange.

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He was eventually convicted of fraud and sentenced to prison.

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Ketan Parekh was a stockbroker in India who used fraudulent means to manipulate the stock market.

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He was eventually convicted of fraud and sentenced to prison.

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Greatest Scams of Stock Markets : The stock markets have made many people rich but at the same time many have lost everything.

Charles Ponzi was an Italian immigrant who promised investors a 50% return on their money in just 45 days.

Charles Ponzi was an Italian immigrant who promised investors a 50% return on their money in just 45 days.

The Charles Ponzi Scheme (1920)

The Charles Ponzi Scheme (1920)

He did this by paying early investors with money from new investors, creating a pyramid scheme.

He did this by paying early investors with money from new investors, creating a pyramid scheme.

The Charles Ponzi Scheme (1920)

The Charles Ponzi Scheme (1920)

The scheme eventually collapsed in 1920, leaving investors with losses of $20 million.

The scheme eventually collapsed in 1920, leaving investors with losses of $20 million.

The Charles Ponzi Scheme (1920)

The Charles Ponzi Scheme (1920)

Bernie Madoff was a former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange who ran a massive Ponzi scheme for over two decades.

Bernie Madoff was a former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange who ran a massive Ponzi scheme for over two decades.

The Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme (2008)

The Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme (2008)

He promised investors returns of up to 12% per year, but these returns were actually paid with money from new investors.

He promised investors returns of up to 12% per year, but these returns were actually paid with money from new investors.

The Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme (2008)

The Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme (2008)

The scheme eventually collapsed in 2008, costing investors an estimated $65 billion.

The scheme eventually collapsed in 2008, costing investors an estimated $65 billion.

The Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme (2008)

The Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme (2008)

Enron was an energy company that used off-balance sheet accounting to hide billions of dollars in debt.

Enron was an energy company that used off-balance sheet accounting to hide billions of dollars in debt.

The Enron Scandal (2001)

The Enron Scandal (2001)

The company's stock price eventually collapsed, leading to the bankruptcy of Enron and the loss of thousands of jobs.

The company's stock price eventually collapsed, leading to the bankruptcy of Enron and the loss of thousands of jobs.

The Enron Scandal (2001)

The Enron Scandal (2001)

WorldCom was a telecommunications company that used accounting fraud to inflate its earnings.

WorldCom was a telecommunications company that used accounting fraud to inflate its earnings.

The WorldCom Scandal (2002)

The WorldCom Scandal (2002)

The company's stock price eventually collapsed, leading to the bankruptcy of WorldCom and the loss of thousands of jobs.

The company's stock price eventually collapsed, leading to the bankruptcy of WorldCom and the loss of thousands of jobs.

The WorldCom Scandal (2002)

The WorldCom Scandal (2002)

Tyco International was a conglomerate that was run by two executives who engaged in a massive accounting fraud.

Tyco International was a conglomerate that was run by two executives who engaged in a massive accounting fraud.

The Tyco International Scandal (2002)

The Tyco International Scandal (2002)

The executives were eventually convicted of fraud and sentenced to prison.

The executives were eventually convicted of fraud and sentenced to prison.

The Tyco International Scandal (2002)

The Tyco International Scandal (2002)

Bre-X Minerals was a Canadian mining company that claimed to have discovered a massive gold deposit in Indonesia.

Bre-X Minerals was a Canadian mining company that claimed to have discovered a massive gold deposit in Indonesia.

The Bre-X Minerals Scandal (1997)

The Bre-X Minerals Scandal (1997)

However, the deposit was later found to be a hoax, and the company's stock price collapsed.

However, the deposit was later found to be a hoax, and the company's stock price collapsed.

The Bre-X Minerals Scandal (1997)

The Bre-X Minerals Scandal (1997)

ZZZZ Best was a carpet cleaning company that was run by Barry Minkow.

ZZZZ Best was a carpet cleaning company that was run by Barry Minkow.

The ZZZZ Best Scandal (1986)

The ZZZZ Best Scandal (1986)

Minkow inflated the company's earnings by creating fake invoices and customer records.

Minkow inflated the company's earnings by creating fake invoices and customer records.

The ZZZZ Best Scandal (1986)

The ZZZZ Best Scandal (1986)

The company's stock price eventually collapsed, and Minkow was convicted of fraud.

The company's stock price eventually collapsed, and Minkow was convicted of fraud.

The ZZZZ Best Scandal (1986)

The ZZZZ Best Scandal (1986)

Harshad Mehta was a stockbroker in India who used fraudulent means to manipulate the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Harshad Mehta was a stockbroker in India who used fraudulent means to manipulate the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The Harshad Mehta Scam (1992)

The Harshad Mehta Scam (1992)

He was eventually convicted of fraud and sentenced to prison.

He was eventually convicted of fraud and sentenced to prison.

The Harshad Mehta Scam (1992)

The Harshad Mehta Scam (1992)

Ketan Parekh was a stockbroker in India who used fraudulent means to manipulate the stock market.

Ketan Parekh was a stockbroker in India who used fraudulent means to manipulate the stock market.

The Ketan Parekh Scam (2001)