Thief Steals $2 Billion of Art With a Swiss Army Knife

Stéphane Breitwieser is probably essentially the most prolific artwork thief who ever lived. From 1994 to 2001, he and his girlfriend/confederate Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus tore via Europe on a panoramic crime spree, armed with solely a Swiss Military knife. They did this each three weekends out of 4, stealing priceless artworks from museums, galleries, and public sale homes. Ultimately, he amassed a set that totaled greater than 300 works of stolen price about $2 billion.

However here is the bizarre half: He by no means stole all this artwork to make a revenue. He stored all of his stolen treasures in a pair of secret rooms the place he may admire them.

Associated: Why Do We Let Ourselves Get Scammed?

And if it weren’t for one silly slip-up, he’d in all probability nonetheless be stealing artwork as we speak. Our visitor, Michael Finkel, has written a ebook about Breitwieser referred to as The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession, which he wrote after conducting a sequence of interviews with the sticky-fingered Frenchman. Hear in to find out how he pulled off these scams in broad daylight with out elevating a ruckus, and even his voice.

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About Soiled Cash

Dirty Money is a brand new podcast sequence from Entrepreneur Media telling the tales of legendary scammers, con artists, and barely-legal lowlifes who cease at nothing to bilk their marks of hundreds of thousands. Hosted by Entrepreneur editors Dan Bova and Jon Small, the podcast takes a deep dive into the deviants behind the deeds.