Editing Bernard "Bernie" Cornfeld (section)

==Founding of Investors Overseas Services==
In 1956, Cornfeld founded Investors Overseas Services (IOS) in Paris, incorporating it in Geneva, Switzerland, to exploit banking secrecy and avoid U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversight. IOS targeted non-U.S. clients, particularly American GIs, diplomats, and European professionals, offering offshore mutual funds like the Fund of Funds, which invested in other funds for diversification. 

His slogan, “Do you sincerely want to be rich?” and a 25,000-strong sales force fueled rapid growth. By 1969, IOS managed $2.5 billion in assets (equivalent to $20 billion in 2025), with 1 million investors across 100 countries, per The New York Times.

Cornfeld’s flamboyant lifestyle—owning a French castle, private jets, and dating models like Victoria Principal—made him a celebrity financier. IOS’s board included high-profile figures like Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, later implicated in a [[1976 Lockheed Bribery Scandal]], per The Guardian. The company’s pyramid-like structure, using new investor funds to pay dividends, and speculative investments in real estate and oil, drew scrutiny. By 1970, a global stock market slump and regulatory crackdowns in Europe and the U.S. triggered a liquidity crisis, with IOS unable to meet investor withdrawals.