'''Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi''', (3 Mac 1882 – 18 Januari 1949), lebih dikenali sebagai '''Charles Ponzi''', ialah seorang ahli perniagaan dan [[Orang Itali|Itali]] businessman anddan [[kaki tipu]] di AS dan Kanada. Aliasnya termasuk ''Charles Ponci'', ''Carlo'' dan ''Charles P. Bianchi''.<ref>{{cite web|author=iPad iPhone Android TIME TV Populist The Page |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,930255,00.html |title=Business & Finance: Ponzi Payment |publisher=TIME |date=5 Januari 1931 |accessdate=16 Julai 2013 |language=Inggeris |trans-title=Bisnes & Kewangan: Pembayaran Ponzi}}</ref> Lahir di Itali, beliau lebih dikenali pada awal 1920-an sebagai seorang penipu di Amerika Utara bagi skim buat duitnya. Charles Ponzi menjanjikan kliennya keuntungan 50% dalam tempoh 45 hari, atau keuntungan 100% dalam tempoh 90 hari, dengan membeli kupon [[jawapan diskaun pos]] di negara lain dan menebuskannya pada nilai muka di Amerika Syarikat sebagai satu bentuk [[arbitraj]].<ref name=time>{{Citation |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Ponzi Payment|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,930255,00.html |quote=In 1920 thousands of gullibles had a more ornate picture of him. He was then the shrewd, straight-eyed miracle man of Boston's [[Hanover Street (Boston, Massachusetts)|Hanover Street]]. He promised his clients a 50% profit in 45 days. ... The essence of his scheme was to buy postal reply coupons in countries with depreciated exchange, redeem them at face value for U. S. |work=[[Time (magazine)|TIME magazine]] |date=January 5, 1931 |accessdate=December 21, 2008}}</ref><ref name=take>{{Citation |title=Take My Money! |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,794507,00.html |quote=In Italy, Ponzi got on the good side of Mussolini's Fascists, was sent to Rio de Janeiro as business manager for Italy's LATI airlines. The war ended his job; after that he eked out a meager existence as a translator. Committed to a Rio charity ward, blind in one eye and partly paralyzed, he said not long ago: "I guess the only news about me that most people want to hear is my death." |isbn=0-256-08657-5 |work=[[Time (majalah)|majalah TIME]] |date=31 Januari 1949 |accessdate=21 Disember 2008 }}</ref> Dalam realiti, Ponzi telah membayar pelabur awal menggunakan pelaburan pelabur kemudian. Jenis skim ini kini dikenali sebagau "[[skim Ponzi]]". Skim berjalan selama lebih setahun sebelum ia runtuh, bernilai "pelaburnya" $20 juta.
