King Of Cons: Exposing The Dirty Rotten Secrets Of The Washington Elite And Hollywood Celebrities

by Aaron Tonken

"In a LAND of MORAL IMBECILES,I knew I could be KING." He was one of the most prominent producers of fundraising events in the country, throwing monumental charity bashes, securing millions of dollars in donations for the sick and needy. The trouble was, some of the people profiting were greedy politicians, and many of the "charity cases" were really only pampered Hollywood stars.  It's a true-life spectacular that only Hollywood could produce. Now, the story that shook the industry will finally shatter the façade of Hollywood's philanthropy and Washington's populism, once and for all exposing how empty are the real lifestyles of many of the rich and famous, and what really happens to charity money meant for the poor.
When Aaron Tonken arrived in Los Angeles in the early nineties, he had nothing, not even a high-school education. Yet within just a few years, he was a friend and business associate of the leading lights of Hollywood and the most powerful people in Washington. Tonken produced many of the biggest charitable and political functions ever seen on either coast, honoring former presidents Ford and Clinton, and raising money for the preferred charities of some of the biggest names in showbiz. But hidden behind the glamour of these galas was a sordid tale, as Tonken became the central character in a tragicomedy featuring demanding stars and politicians grasping for big-dollar campaign donations. In King of Cons, you'll read how Aaron From his bizarre days as a virtual prisoner in the decrepit mansion of Zsa Zsa Gabor to his entanglements with hustlers, con artists, and the Clintons, Aaron tracks the whole sordid story of how he squandered millions of dollars from charities in the world of celebrity politicians and politicking celebrities.

Genres: Nonfiction

485 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2004

Reviews

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In a world of moral imbeciles, I knew I could be king."

If you enjoyed gossipy books like Hollywood Babylon, then you'd probably get a thrill out of King of Cons. The story surrounds the life of a smoothtalking schemer, who managed to rise from a stint at a homeless shelter run by singing rabbis to an event planner for the rich and famous. In the book he details his experience with spoiled celebrities, divas, and tax evasion.

If you like trash-talking books about Hollywood then this book is right up your alley.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd one. It's something of a confessional, but also an expose.

Tonken wasn't really a con. He didn't con anyone out of anything, certainly not deliberately, although you could say he conned people attending celebrity charity events out of their contributions by giving many of them to the celebrities.

Aaron Tonken got into charity fundraising events after doing time at odd jobs, most especially working for Zsa Zsa Gabor. The Gabor experience taught him that appearance matters. But he was as star-struck when he left her as when he started. And it was really that aspect of his personality that led to his downfall.

Tonken was good at selling himself and his projects. So he was able to bring many different persons together for charity events. It seems he genuinely wanted to raise money for these charities, but he had a hard time cutting costs. In particular, he couldn't say no to the stars. If they insisted on a fee plus airfare plus hotels for their large families, he would make it happen.

Worse, because of the shifty accounting common to these events (something Aaron did not invent), he often ended up carrying the freight himself, and making it up on the next event. He wasn't taking home much himself. Just enough to keep his tiny apartment rented and minimally furnished.

You'd think after a time of taking on larger and larger debts that he'd stop himself and tell the celebs, sorry, this is charity, if you don't want to do it for free then we don't need you. But he couldn't. There were some exceptions, stars who took nothing, who gave instead, but they were the exception. This is the part of the book that is so shocking. We think when we see these events with headliners performing that they are doing it for free. But in many cases they are making out big. If there is one thing I learned it is that I'll never entertain the notion of attending one of these events. Not that I could afford it, given that I would not ask for that favor.

Aaron paints himself as naive and a pushover and I honestly believe him. I hope that he has learned from this experience and that others have learned the ugly truth about many celebrities.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

All I can say is wow. I always thought the hollywood entertainers were fickle. But this show just how much.

[Mick Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

all the greedy participants in this book deserve one another,money grubbing doesn't give it credit.only interested in themselves and be damned to charity.and when I got to a sentence about somebody with makeup looking like morticia off the munsters I just gave up what a shower.