James Rufus “Get-Rich-Quick” Wallingford.
If there was a fool and his money anywhere within shouting distance, they were soon parted if J. Rufus had anything to say about it. Fast-talk legends such as George M. Cohan and W. C. Fields took lessons from Wallingford. Snake oil or colored carpet tacks, it was all the same to him. The fast buck was what he was after, and the gilt-edged scheme was the bait he used to hook his victim.
We haven’t heard anything about him since 1921 and the burst of prosperity that followed the depression after the Great War. He seems to have reformed and dropped out of sight, leaving the field to the amateurs who bested his record in October of 1929. Nevertheless, this American Business Buccaneer in his prime was someone to look out for. He was big. He was bad. And now?
Hold on to your wallets and watches, and count the silver spoons.
He’s back.
