Meet the 21st Century's Richest Con Artists That Trapped Thousands in Financial Loopholes

A few of the largest tricksters in the 21st century that made billions from dubious dealings and false promises.

PUBLISHED SEP 3, 2023

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New tricks but the same old agenda

In the 21st century, there have been numerous con artists who have acquired substantial riches by employing clever ploys and crafty strategies. These people have manipulated trust, using their wit and smarts to swindle innocent people. The origins of con artists date back to the 17th century, and their legacy persists even in the 21st century.

1. Anna Sorkin

Anna Sorokin, who also went by the name Anna Delvey, is a con artist originally from Russia. She pretended to be a rich heiress and tricked wealthy people in New York City social circles. She lied about her identity and fortunes to fool banks, hotels, and rich folks into investing money into her ventures, until she collected $60 million. But in 2019, Sorokin was found guilty of her crime and sentenced to prison for four to 12 years.

2. Martin Shkreli

Martin Shkreli, the ex-CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, made headlines in 2015 for abruptly spiking the cost of cancer drug Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 per pill. In 2017, he got in trouble for cheating investors in his hedge funds and manipulating his company's stock prices. He was found guilty and got a seven-year jail sentence. He also had to give up $7.4 million, says USA Today.

3. Carlos Ghosn

Carlos Ghosn, the ex-CEO of Nissan and Renault, got into trouble in 2018 when he was taken into custody in Japan for financial wrongdoing. He was accused of misreporting his income and diverting company funds. Despite denying allegations, he managed to flee from Japan in 2019 and is now in Lebanon, where Japan doesn't have an agreement for extradition. His current net worth is $120 Million.

4. Jho Low

Jho Low, a Malaysian businessman with a current net worth of $150 Million, is thought to be the mastermind behind the huge 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. This scandal is one of the biggest financial frauds in history. For this Low took funds from the Malaysian state investment fund and used it to live a lavish life and invest in ventures including the Hollywood movie The Wolf of Wall Street. He is still said to be hiding in China.

5. Bernie Madoff

Bernard 'Bernie' Madoff is one of the most well-known scamsters of of the 21st century with a net worth of $1.5 Billion. He tricked thousands of investors into giving him about $64.8 billion, through his firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, with the promise of big returns. But the money wasn't earned through real investments – he just paid older clients with funds from new clients. This structure built on lies came crashing down in 2008, and he got a 150-year prison sentence in 2009.

6. Allen Stanford

Allen Stanford, once a billionaire, got in trouble in 2012 for setting up a big $7 billion Ponzi scheme using his company, Stanford Financial Group. He tricked people by promising returns on certificates of deposit (CDs) from his offshore bank. But he instead used money from new clients to pay old ones, making $2.2 billion, until he was caught and sentenced to 110 years in prison.

7. Elizabeth Holmes

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Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of health tech company Theranos, was once seen as the youngest self-made female billionaire with a net worth of $4.5 Billion. Her riches were based on claims of a blood test gadget, called the Edison, that could run multiple tests in a short time with a small sample of blood. But this turned out to be an eleborate lie since the device didn't work, and in In 2018 Holmes was charged with fraud. In November 2022 she was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

8. Eike Batista

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Eike Batista, who used to be the richest person in Brazil, got in trouble for an insider trading scam in 2018. He made his money from investments in the oil, mining, and shipping businesses, but things fell apart when it was revealed that he shared confidential company info to generate profits from share sales of his oil company, OGX, before it went broke. He was given a 30-year prison sentence but is serving it at home right now. At his peak, he had $34.5 billion in his account.