What advice would you give to a young man who wants to be the next Bernie Madoff? Should he study finance/banking? Or is the next big field for a conman something like illegal casino/online gambling?
I’ll relay your suggestions to the eager youth!
Get into high level politics. No bigger con game in the world than that.
He’s going to need an iron stomach to stoop to that level…
My advice would be to do everyone a favor and commit suicide.
It would help the young man if he looks like either Robert Redford or Paul Newman. That way if the conman thing doesn’t work out he can go into train robbery.
Join a seminary and get your doctorate of divinity. The you can start your church and begin raking the cash in exchange for promises of paradise.
True, true. He can do what Hypno-Toad suggested to build up that iron stomach.
Um, start with being a young man? Because as I remember, you’re not.
Study computer programming. The best way to get away with something is to do something very few people understand.
Invent a religion. Worked for L. Ron Hubbard.
You have to work weekends, though.
Introductory learning materials for Grifting 101:
The Boiler Room (film)
The Smartest Men in the Room (film)
The Grifters (film)
Matchstick Men (film)
Anyone think of any other obvious ones?
Not if you appoint a vicar. See, you need to create a large enough hierarchy to insulate yourself from the filthy heathens. If you make your clergy take vows of poverty, then you can keep all the sweet donations for yourself.
I already mentioned Robert Redford and Paul Newman, so yeah.
I say, study the internet and security, particularly for sites like facebook and whatnot. Then, go into business advertising that you’ll clean up people’s on-line identities, so that potential employers, dating partners, and so on won’t find incriminating things on-line.
Your clients might not initially understand that removing incriminating stuff is free… but there’s a permanent recurring charge for not putting it back up.
A good show to watch for grifting tips would be The Riches.
Of course, brit series “Hustle” and “The real hustle” are a must.
Not really for grifting but definitely for fleecing people: Glengarry Glen Ross.
Read Fisher and Ury’s “Getting to Yes.” I know it’s a business-school cliche, but it really is a good resource - gives you a way to formalize the way you think about negotiating with people, especially identifying their real interests (as opposed to their stated positions). If you’re going to be a decent con-man, you’ll need to be persuasive - Fisher and Ury is a good place to start. It’s also a short and casual read, which is good.
You must be good looking, and have a nice hair cut. You simply must.