I couldn't help but think, what if the scammer had actually gotten investors to fund him?

With the team he'd hired, and the website and other work they'd produced (ok, so maybe the author took some creative license with how good it actually was), how far would he have gotten?

"So, while News Corp bid 5 billion for the WSJ, you think you can get it with your 50 million dollar capitalization?"

Hmm. Pass.

Wow. That story was... unbelievable.

It's a classic shaggy dog story, its veracity notwithstanding...

The secret to a good con is finding marks who want to believe.

Gullibility and desperation are separate but closely related things.