Albert B. Fall

Among these reserves was the Wyoming site known as Teapot Dome.

But while this was good planning on the Navy's part, the rich oil men it felt like a slap in the face why were these reservoirs of black gold going untapped especially when they could make those who extracted them silly money it was a line of thinking albert fall was sympathetic to so sympathetic when harding made him secretary of the interior he all but openly winked at the oil barons and said watch this.

In 1921, Fall asked Harding to put the reserves under his department.

The moment Harding had signed off on the idea, Fall

was drawing up secret agreements with oil industry chums Harry Sinclair and Edward Doheny.

In return for a chance to tamp these sites, Sinclair and Doheny would merely have to fulfill minor obligations to the government.

Provided Albert Fall and possibly Warren Harding were paid well, nothing would stand between these caricature capitalists and Scrooge McDuck levels of wealth.

It was the beginning of the Teapot Dome scandal, a PR disaster that would soon become the greatest example of presidential misconduct this side of Watergate.

Now, the Teapot Dome scandal.

In American history, scandal of the early 1920s surrounding the secret leasing of federal oil reserves by the Secretary of the Interior, Albert Bacon, for...

He was doing naughty stuff in government.

Fancy that.

New Mexico Supreme Court Justice.

And people really respected him for being like self, he was self-made, you know? A little fun side note, Albert Fall's middle name was Bacon.

B-A-C-O-N, Bacon.

Albert Bacon Fall.

You know, not the ones that were best for the job, just people who liked him and like wouldn't challenge him at all.

And this crew became known as the Ohio Gang, even though not all of them were from Ohio, but okay.

So of course, you know, his good friend Albert Fall made the cut and Harding had a special job just for Albert.

Secretary of the Interior.

These eight men controlled more money than the United States government at that time.

They included the president of the largest independent steel company, the president of the largest gas company, the greatest wheat speculator, the president of the New York Stock Exchange, a member of the president's cabinet, the greatest bear on Wall Street, the head of the world's greatest monopoly, the president of the Bank of International Settlement.

Certainly one would have to admit that a group of the world's most successful men was gathered in that place, at least men who had found the secret of earning money.

Let's see where these eight men were 25 years later.

The greatest wheat speculator, Arthur Cotton, died abroad insolvent.

The president of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, went to Sing Sing Penitentiary.

A member of the president's cabinet, Albert Fall, was pardoned from prison so that he could die at home.

The greatest bear on Wall Street, Jesse Livermore, died a suicide.

And there's s- I got a little pushback.

You know, somebody said, "Well, you know, what about Albert Fall at the Department of the Interior," et cetera.

But, you know, and that's into teapot dome.

Uh, but nobody argues [laughs] about RFK Jr. being the worst Secretary of H- Health and Human Services ever.