A good name is more
desirable than great riches.
—Proverbs 22:1
Charles Ponzi’s fraudulent investment ploy became known as a “Ponzi scheme.” Investor money snowballed on Ponzi’s promise of a 100 percent profit within ninety days. He used money from new investors to pay previous ones. When the ruse collapsed, victims lost $20 million ($266 million in today’s dollars). Ponzi spent three years in prison and subsequently was deported to his native Italy, where he died penniless at age sixty-six.
Bernie Madoff pulled off the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, a $64.8 billion fraud. Arrested in 2008, Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence.
“He who takes crooked paths will be found out” (Prv 10:9).
“The name of the wicked will rot” (Prv 10:7).
“A good name is more desirable than great riches” (Prv 22:1).
You will leave a legacy. Let an honorable name top the list.
Life is temporary.
Legacy is timeless.