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¶That after Kreuger's death young & beauteous women in all parts of the world bombarded his executors with demands for their regular allowances. ¶That Kreuger once opened a trading account with a Paris broker, giving him authority to speculate in U. S. stocks. The broker promptly lost most of the money in the account. Fazed not a whit, Kreuger supplied more money, told the broker to keep it up until he learned how to speculate. Until Kreuger's death the broker was still learning to speculate and Kreuger was supplying more & more money, no questions asked. ¶That Kreuger never drank anything but champagne but that he could drink magnums of that without getting drunk. ¶That when Kreuger's health became a matter of grave concern, U. S. bankers asked him to name the man they were to turn to in case of his death. Kreuger gave them the Paris address of Professor Bollitov, a sometime fabulously rich Russian tycoon, who knew as much about his labyrinth of companies as himself. The bankers cabled their Paris representatives to locate White Russian Bollitov. At the address given, the representatives were informed that Professor Bollitov was away, would return shortly. Meantime Ivar Kreuger returned to Paris. When the bankers' representatives called again, Ivar Kreuger in a great false beard received them solemnly as Professor Bollitov, answered all their questions. ¶That when he was in a city where he was not well known, Kreuger would always sneak away from his friends to roister from night club to night club, entertaining the hostesses with naughty stories in French, German, English or the Scandinavian tongues.
All the Kreuger legends are but gropings in the dark for the real explanation of how Ivar Kreuger, mortal man, duped prince, pauper, layman and banker, so long and so completely. They are merely attempts to simplify the complex, enigmatic personality that seemed always to compel blind faith. And though accountants can explain what he did, the final explanation of how he did it lies sealed in a Swedish urn.
*Corporate publicity is once more in the ascendancy as an object of public and private reform. Not until last fortnight did the New York Stock Exchange demand independent audits of all annual financial reports issued by companies applying for security listing (among important corporations still auditing their own books are Standard Oil of New Jersey and Royal Dutch Co. for the Working of Petroleum Wells in Netherland Indies). But this ruling is of little present importance because it does not affect companies whose stocks & bonds are already on the Big Board (unless they list new securities), nor does it stipulate the degree of disclosure. Most corporations, notably big tobacco and chemical companies, remain free to tell investors as little as they choose. Though the Stock Exchange agitates for quarterly reports from corporations with listed securities it does not yet demand them. For a more notable step toward frankness, see p. 15.