posted on Jul, 17 2011 @ 12:40 AM
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It was noon on a Friday. I was a young man and had just begun a construction apprenticeship. The crew I was with were out on a work site having lunch
when a young journeyman came in and joined us. He was young and single and making a solid journeyman wage. He drove a company truck and the world was
his oyster.
As he approached the stack of sheetrock on which we were sitting he appeared as if he was about to explode out of his skin.
"You guys will not believe what I did last night".
"Tell us Max, blond or brunette? "
"No, nothing like that. I went to a money party."
"A what," sez we?
"A money party. There were all these people and there was all this money flying around."
"What do you mean Max" sez we?
" Well first off it was just crazy. There were all these people with all this money. My brother invited me and another guy. Anybody who is there for
the first time has to pay $1,000 to get in the door and sign a numbered list. My brother went to one the night before so he got in for free."
The host collects all the money. When he gets $32,000 he takes it over to one guy and and counts it out in front of everybody, "
At this point, Max pantomimes slapping thousand dollar bills onto the Sheetrock. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 thousand dollars.
"Then he takes out a list of people who had gotten in for free because this was their second party, like my brother, and hands $1000 apiece to the 16
of them.
"That's crazy Max," sez we.
"No, no," sez Max, "listen. There were like 150 people there. The host's wife had been collecting when he was handing out the first $32,000 and
she gave that $32,000 more to him. He took it and went to another man and counted out1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 thousand dollars. (again
he pantomimes)
Then he took the list and gave $1000 to the top 16 first timers on the list. That's when I got my grand back. Now I'm on the list to reach the top
and collect the $16,000 and it didn't cost me a cent."
The list it turns out had five lines.
The first or bottom line of first timers has 16 places on it.
The second line has 8 places on it.
The third line has 4 places on it.
The fourth line has two places on it and
The fifth and top line has only one place. The $16,000 place.
Max had already moved from the first line to the second line when he got his money back because 32 people had walked in the door after him.
"People on the second row get nothing but when the guy on top gets his $16,000, but they move up to the third row.
People on the third and second row get nothing but they move up lines as the top guys get the $16,000 and move off the list.
All you have to do is keep going to these money parties and bring two friends with $1,000. That's all. One guys money goes to you to pay you back
your $1,000 and the other $1,000 goes to the guy on the top. There's a party tonight. Who wants to come"
Well I did some quick math in my head and said not me. I was making just above minimum wage with three children and I could add two plus two. It was
clear to me that when you reached the fourth row of just two people, the pyramid split into two and fundamentally had to double in size for each
payout.
That night we were having dinner with a friend and his wife. He was a journeyman and making good money. Through our dinner and a game of ma Jong, he
received no less then 10 phone calls from other friends asking if he wanted to go to a "party" that night or the next.
We looked at each other and smiled. "Somebody's gonna pay and lose real soon".
Well, Monday came and I was working in the shop for this construction company. The buzz about the money parties was all over the place especially by
the the owner who had risen to the third line and kept asking me if I was sure I didn't want to come to one.
Among the other people in the company, many had gone to one or maybe two parties that weekend. Some had gotten their $1,000 back and some hadn't.
Those who hadn't were sure they would get it back the following weekend at the next round of parties. All they had to do was bring two friends with
money. Just two.
The following weekend more parties were attended and more money thrown about. On Sunday, I watched football with two friends and between plays we
discussed the money parties. My friends had been invited to a party that coming Wednesday and were all for scraping together a grand apiece and going
to the party that Wednesday night. They wanted me to come along if I could bring a thousand dollars.
I explained the math over and over to them and thought they understood. Showed them a diagram of the pyramid and tried to help them see the dynamics
of the con. They said they did.
Well Wednesday afternoon came and one friend, Joe, came back to see me. I explained it to him once more and told him not to go, that surely this thing
had been going on for over a week and would soon break apart. He went anyway.
Joe came back the next night and told me how wrong I had been. The pyramid had only three lines. One had 16, one had 8 and the third had two the top
two people didn't get $16,000 but only $8,000 apiece.
Danny put in a grand and Joe put in a grand and between them they put together another thousand to get Danny's mother in.They hadn't gotten their
money back but surely knew they would at the next party which was scheduled for that Sunday. They wanted me to get a few more friends and come to
the next party.
I looked at the diagram of their party and could clearly see that the bigger pyramid had disintegrated and split in two so those who had gotten near
the top could at least get something out of it. To me, this thing was just about over.
I looked at them and tried to explain to them, but they wouldn't hear me. So I said that I would come with them on Sunday.
"Where is the next party"I asked?
"It's at my house said" Joe.
Sunday night. Joe's house. Nobody there but the three of us minus their $3,000.
Post script.
Two weeks later the owner of the company I worked for stuck his head into the shop and asked me if I wanted to go to a money party at his house that
night.
I politely said I had other things to do as he disappointedly turned and walked away.