EPISODE 10: THE DECLINE ## PART ONE: THE MONEY ### CHAPTER 1: THE POVERTY By the 1920s, Nikola Tesla was broke. The man whose inventions powered the modern world couldn't pay his hotel bills. The visionary whose work generated billions in value for others had nothing. The genius whom society had celebrated was reduced to dodging creditors. How did this happen? The answers were multiple and painful. Tesla had sold his AC patents to Westinghouse and then given up the royalties. He had spent fortunes on research that produced no commercial return. He had trusted people who cheated him, signed contracts that disadvantaged him, made business decisions that defied basic sense. By his late sixties, Tesla lived hand-to-mouth, dependent on the generosity of former friends and the grudging tolerance of hotel managers. --- ### CHAPTER 2: THE HOTELS Tesla moved from hotel to hotel, always a step ahead of unpaid bills. His pattern was consistent: arrive at a prestigious hotel, establish credit, live well for months or years, then depart when the accumulated debt became intolerable. The Waldorf-Astoria, the Hotel Marguery, the Governor Clinton—each hosted him until they couldn't anymore. The hotels let him stay partly because of his fame. Having Nikola Tesla as a guest conferred prestige, even if he didn't pay. His presence attracted other guests, journalists,...