Drawing of Spitzeder from the 1873 magazine Die Gartenlaube, based on a photograph
Born
Adelheid Luise Spitzeder
(1832-02-09)9 February 1832
Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia
Died
27 or 28 October 1895 (aged 63)
Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire
Resting place
Alter Südfriedhof, Munich 48°07′39″N11°33′51″E / 48.1275°N 11.5643°E / 48.1275; 11.5643 (Grab von Adele Spitzeder)
Other names
Adele Vio
Occupation(s)
Singer, actress, private banker
Years active
1856–1895
Known for
Introducing the first Ponzi scheme
Adelheid Luise "Adele" Spitzeder ([ˈaːdl̩haɪtʔaˈdeːləˈʃpɪtˌtseːdɐ]; 9 February 1832 – 27 or 28 October 1895), also known by her stage name Adele Vio, was a German actress, folk singer, and con artist. Initially a promising young actress, Spitzeder became a well-known private banker in 19th-century Munich when her theatrical success dwindled. Running what was possibly the first recorded Ponzi scheme, she offered large returns on investments by continually using the money of new investors to pay back the previous ones. At the height of her success, contemporary sources considered her the wealthiest woman in Bavaria.
Opening her bank in 1869, Spitzeder managed to fend off attempts to discredit her for a few years before authorities were able to bring her to trial in 1872. Because Ponzi schemes were not yet illegal, she was convicted instead of bad accounting and mishandling customers' money and sentenced to three years in prison. Her bank was closed and 32,000 people lost 38 million gulden, the equivalent of almost 400 million euros in 2017 money, causing a wave of suicides. Her personal fortune in art and cash was stripped from her.
After her release from prison in 1876, Spitzeder lived off benefactors and unsuccessfully tried to act again in Altona and Berlin. She left Germany for Vienna but police there prevented her engagement, so she returned to Munich in 1878 to publish her memoir. She was arrested again in 1880 for attempting to open a new bank without having the necessary permits but later released without charges. Spitzeder performed as a folk singer, living off friends and benefactors, but she never left her criminal life completely behind her, resulting in further trials and periods of incarceration. She died of cardiac arrest on 27 or 28 October 1895 in Munich.
Spitzeder never married, but it was noted that she carried on several lesbian relationships. Outwardly, she maintained the persona of a pious Christian woman who helped the poor, which aided the success of her business.
Adelheid Luise "Adele" Spitzeder ([ˈaːdl̩haɪt ʔaˈdeːlə ˈʃpɪtˌtseːdɐ]; 9 February 1832 – 27 or 28 October 1895), also known by her stage name Adele Vio, was a...
definition of the Ponzi scheme were carried out from 1869 to 1872 by AdeleSpitzeder in Germany and by Sarah Howe in the United States in the 1880s through...
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trickster and actress AdeleSpitzeder. Spitzeder's year of birth is unclear. According to the Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950, Spitzeder was born on 2...
soprano) and actress. She was the mother of AdeleSpitzeder (1832–1895) from her first husband, Josef Spitzeder (1794/96–1832). Vio's birth date is unknown...
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the Gilded Age, was the first-ever Ponzi scheme. In Munich, Germany, AdeleSpitzeder founded the "Spitzedersche Privatbank" in 1869, promising an interest...
to similarities to the case of AdeleSpitzeder, who had run a similar business in Munich until November 1872; Spitzeder, however, unlike Placht, never...
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films himself: Die Ahnfrau - Oratorium nach Franz Grillparzer (1971), AdeleSpitzeder [de] (1972) and Heute spielen wir den Boß (1981), for which he also...
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the Confederate States Army, and politician (d. 1904) February 9 – AdeleSpitzeder, German actress, folk singer and confidence trickster (d. 1895) February...
confidence trickster AdeleSpitzeder, tapping into the widespread antisemitism of the times to characterize criticism of Spitzeder, mainly by the Münchner...
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series 1971 Mathias Kneissl Res Kneißl, Mathias' Mutter 1972 AdeleSpitzeder [de] AdeleSpitzeder TV film 1972 Jail Bait [de] Hilda Schneider TV film 1976...
ever Metropolitan Police strike in London. November 22 – "Spitzeder Swindle": AdeleSpitzeder's pioneering Ponzi scheme in Munich collapses. November 27...
September – Gustav Frank, German theologian (died 1904) 9 November – AdeleSpitzeder, German actress and folk singer (died 1895) 15 November – Hermann Ottomar...
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