Creative Destruction Leads from Porn to Bagels

Brian Doherty | January 24, 2005

Blaming a wave of easily accessible, often-free, Internet porn for his business downfall (from an $11 million fortune at one time, he was reduced to bankruptcy and then homelessness last year), former Screw magazine magnate Al Goldstein proves the resilience of the capitalist system by bouncing back as a cold-calling bagel salesman.

Comments

|1.24.05 @ 8:04PM|#

I knew it!

...I'm canceling my order immediately.

Tim Cavanaugh|1.24.05 @ 8:18PM|#

I don't understand how somebody with $11 million wouldn't just put $1 million into a savings account. How can you lose the whole fortune?

|1.24.05 @ 8:27PM|#

Didn't he get divorced numerous times? Did he fail to pay his income taxes?

I think he was arrested numerous times--his legal bills must have been pretty high.

He has a good story; he should do a book and a screenplay--both titled "Screwed", of course.

|1.24.05 @ 9:04PM|#

It seems like an honest job for a nice Jewish boy from New York. Just don't put Al Goldstein in charge of poking holes in the bagels.

|1.24.05 @ 10:12PM|#

Just don't put Al Goldstein in charge of poking holes in the bagels. - NoStar

Keep him off schmear duty, too.

Kevin

The Lonewacko Blog|1.24.05 @ 10:39PM|#

Just don't put Al Goldstein in charge of poking holes in the bagels.

However, he could get a job at Dunkin' Donuts. No need to buy any more bavarian creme.

|1.24.05 @ 11:08PM|#

I don't understand how somebody with $11 million wouldn't just put $1 million into a savings account. How can you lose the whole fortune?

Exactly. However, I'm sure his "investment account" consisted of libertarian-approved blow.

|1.24.05 @ 11:15PM|#

UFP,

Well, if said blow was legal, it wouldn't have cost enough to deplete his fortune so quickly. Help the homeless ... legalize drugs! ;-)

|1.24.05 @ 11:40PM|#

Yeah, when I saw the headline, I knew there'd be a good joke or three there.

Also:

It seems like an honest job for a nice Jewish boy from New York

Nice? When Al Goldstein is generally considered "nice" we may congratulate ourselves on having achieved a higher level of toleration.

Maurice Girodias|1.24.05 @ 11:44PM|#

Ah, yes, M. Goldstein.

One must remember, oui, the old worlds of the traditional publishings lead to enormous, yes, enormous quantities of debt taken on, merely to produce the documents--books, magazines, yes, and the videos.

And then should such things no sell?

Oh, c'est horrible. En vraiment, horrible. The inventory costs, overages, yes, returns, late fees.

Eleven million no lasts as it used to.

The inventory, she suck.

|1.25.05 @ 1:25AM|#

When I saw the headline, I knew there was a glaring misspelling.

|1.25.05 @ 2:05AM|#

I think this guy just has a fixation on holes.

Daniel Carver|1.25.05 @ 2:12AM|#

Al's problem is that he's an asshole and makes enemies faster than he makes friends. I hope this has been a learning experience for him...

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)|1.25.05 @ 2:38AM|#

For a second I thought the title was "...from Porn to Beagles"!

Must...stop...fantasizing...

|1.25.05 @ 10:45AM|#

Think twice before you buy his cream cheese.

fyodor|1.25.05 @ 12:09PM|#

I don't understand how somebody with $11 million wouldn't just put $1 million into a savings account. How can you lose the whole fortune?

Not having studied Goldstein's books or life, the thought occurs that the $11 mill maybe wasn't ever just sitting around in cash but was invested in the business. And when that failed, the mills went away. This, of course, could have been avoided by knowing when to fold. But alas.... (Note that this is not mutually exclusive with UFP's theory.)

|1.25.05 @ 12:32PM|#

RE: Al's $11 million fortune.
Just chalked it up to Easy Cum, Easy go.

|1.25.05 @ 1:01PM|#

It just goes to show you that any hole can be a gold mine.