The Millionaire, the Con Man, and the American Dream

Nobody believed in me, that was their first mistake.

Their second was believing in me.

If you took one look at my childhood you would see three options.

Number one: He grows up, and gets a middle class, lower class working job. Learns a trade, starts a family of his own, hopefully is a better father than his.

Number two: He gets addicted to the same things his father is, gets in trouble as a teen, low grades, eventually ends up behind bars, and/or homeless on the street.

Number three: He rises above the odds, becomes the American dream and proves his parents he can become more than his childhood.

I would like to give you a fourth Option

Number four: He is a troubled teen, learns a trade and gets a lower class working job. Turns to crime as a side hobby, and against all odds, wins the lottery and with smart financial choices, becomes a millionaire through stocks, and investments.

I did the fourth option, however not very many people know about that crime hobby.

My name Is Henry Ulcan, and I am a con man.

All throughout my life everyone laughed when I said I could do anything I put my mind to. Most told me I’d end up the same as my father, others said there were limits to my greatness. That’s when I set out to prove them all wrong.

However, the only way an honest man can get anywhere, is through very dishonest ways. Naturally, I made a story for myself.

The news loves an underdog, a poor kid rising above expectations, so I took a hold of that. I had the perfect backstory, all I needed was a normal life, and a large sum of money.

So, naturally I went to trade school, learned how to be a carpenter, and worked for a small carpenter business.

While working, I stayed up late learning hacking, and computer reprogramming. I offered my services as an athletic, smart, and capable thief to earn the money for computers, and programming lessons.

Within five years, my career as a carpenter was failing. But my career as a professional thief was thriving.

I could make a good forgery, plan and execute a heist, and had top of the line hacking skills. Now for the next step of my grand plan.

A large sum of money.

I easily bought a lottery ticket with a jackpot of a billion dollars. Then, the night before the results came out, programmed it so it would only select my number.

By that morning, I was famous.

After taxes, and some maybe not so great decisions, I came home with 500 million dollars to my name. An overnight millionaire.

All my criminal friends laughed at me, said I would get found out too easily, and everything I had done would go to waste.

The only problem was not only did the news and media love me, but by law, everything I had done was legal.

After investing the money, and closely watching and predicting the stocks, my money started making money and I was set for life.

People will do anything to get the attention of the rich. And anything to keep that rich person’s money in their back pocket.

So, with my plan in motion, I created a new plan.

Shock the world even more, and prove to everyone why you should never trust a criminal.

Something I learned fairly quickly is that when you have unlimited money, you also get a level of power. That same power allowed me to do whatever I would like.

I gave a lot to the poor, the needy, and to charity cases. There was only ever one person who saw through my facade. I won’t share her name since she probably wouldn’t like it. But I’ll call her Belle.

Belle was the CEO of a small children’s home her parents started. They took in children, raised them, and helped the start life just like any parent would do for their children. Belle had grown up in the same home.

I offered her more than enough to update many of the appliances, buy the children new clothes, start a college fund, and still have more left over. She’s the only one who ever said no.

For a while, I tried to befriend her, I knew the story would be something the media would love. It’s a classic enemies to lovers. But, after a while, I realized that hearts weren’t meant to be broken, but trust was.

Trust was the only thing I ever planned on breaking, never a sweet girl’s heart.

That’s when I cut myself out of her life for the better.

Another thing I found, is when you’ve got millions, paying people off is very easy. The right amount of zeros behind a dollar sign will by anyone’s silence.

Between this and the fact I was someone all of America loved, no one could pinpoint any criminal works on me.

Within five years I was one of the most famous people in the country, had an invite to anything I wanted, constant media coverage, and my own organized crime group.

Preforming the thefts is fun. But too risky for me. I recruited the best of the best, commanded and planned the heists of the century. There was never a single shard of evidence pointing back to me, not a single way anyone could even guess it was me running the greatest organized crime group in the history of the United States.

The next five years I settled things down. I’d slowly become old news as the world started shifting. I let a little evidence slip, just enough that the smart detectives would see a common thread, but not enough to prove anything. Slowly, some controversy came out, questioning my fame and rise to power. Exactly as I wanted. It brought me back to the scene.

Now the turn of the decade, I have not only acquired enough wealth to do anything I wanted, but also enough criminal power to have anything I wanted done, done.

I truly could do anything I want. But no one fully knows the power I hold in my hands now.

As I write this, I admit to many things. I could very easily buy an election, ruin any company, destroy reputations, and even start world war three. It is crazy what influence, people’s belief in you, and the combination of money and crime can do.

Or, I can buy a small island and leave the world behind. Everyone will eventually forget my name, I’ll be just a figment of people’s past. My name will never touch a history book.

As I said, the second mistake people made was believing in me.

I really could do any one of the options I have mentioned above. But as I write this, I’ve already decided against every single one.

Instead, I plan to disappear. I am only thirty five, and have more than enough life to live. It remains unclear what path I will take, carpentry is a great and honest work. But then again, it has been a while since I’ve done a one man heist.

Either way, I can assure you that you will never hear of Henry Ulcan again, nor shall you see him.

I leave you people with one final warning. Be careful of whom you trust, and who you believe in. For even the best men can be manufactured.