When you have been a teen within the late Nineteen Nineties to early 2000s, you might not escape the pull of the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC.

The boy bands have been a cultural phenomenon, influencing vogue and music traits and shaping the sound of pop music for a era. Backstreet Boys bought 130 million information worldwide, making them one of many best-selling boy bands of all time, whereas NSYNC adopted intently behind with 70 million information bought.

The person behind the bands was a larger-than-life character named Lou Pearlman — actually, he was mentioned to weigh round 330 kilos.

Initially a blimp salesman (we child you not), Pearlman grew to become some of the profitable expertise managers and report producers of all time, casting and coaching the largest boy bands on the planet.

Photograph by Mark Weiss/WireImage

Pearlman was mentioned to have a web value of over $300 million on the peak of his success — till all of it got here crashing down just like the Hindenburg. Pearlman died penniless in jail in 2016.

Associated: These Scammers, Con Artists, and Barely-Authorized Lowlifes Will Cease at Nothing To Bilk Their Marks of Tens of millions

On the newest episode of Entrepreneur’s new podcast, Soiled Cash, editors Dan Bova and Jon Small inform the lurid story of the Boy Band Bandit. How did Pearlman turn out to be so profitable, and the place did he go so mistaken?

They’re joined by Lou Pearlman knowledgeable Tyler Grey, who has written the definitive e book on Pearlman referred to as The Hit Charade: Lou Pearlman, Boy Bands, and the Greatest Ponzi Scheme in U.S. Historical past

Hearken to the podcast right here or subscribe wherever you hearken to podcasts.