Matthew Lesko Explained

Matthew Lesko
Birth Date:11 May 1943
Birth Place:Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States
Known For:"Free Money" Books
Occupation:Book Author
Spouses:Wendy Schaetzel Lesko, Roberta Kleinstein, Leila K. Kight
Children:2

Matthew John Lesko (born May 11, 1943) is an American author known for his publications and infomercials on federal grant funding. He has written over twenty books instructing people how to get money from the United States government. Widely recognized for recording television commercials, infomercials, and interviews in colorful suits decorated with question marks, Lesko's signature fashion also extends into his daily attire and transportation,[1] earning him the nickname Question Mark Guy.

Life and career

Lesko grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He is of Slovak descent.[2] [3] Lesko received his undergraduate degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee. Upon graduation he was commissioned as an officer in the Navy. In the Navy, he served as a navigator aboard the USS Oxford in the South China Sea during the Vietnam War.[4] When Lesko returned he earned a master's degree in business administration (MBA) from American University in Washington, D.C.

In 1975, Lesko quit his job designing computerized information systems and co-founded Washington Researchers with his then-wife Leila K. Kight.[5]

After a slow start, Lesko started sending out a professional newsletter telling people how to get free information and, by 1979, Washington Researchers employed 30 people in its Washington, D.C. office.

As side lines of business, Lesko began publishing directories for those who preferred to do their own research, such as the Researcher's Guide to Washington, and conducting seminars on the types of information then available from the government.

Lesko was able to interest publisher Viking in his idea to publish a directory of government information sources in 1980.[6] That book, Getting Yours: The Complete Guide to Government Money, was published by Viking's Penguin subsidiary in 1982.[7]

He claims to have researched government grants for over 25 years.[8]

Lesko lives in Kensington, Maryland, with his third wife Wendy Schaetzel Lesko and their two sons, Max and Morgan.

Criticism

Critics claim that Lesko is misleading in his advertisements. A 2004 report by the New York State Consumer Protection Board claimed that most of the grants mentioned in Lesko's books were actually public assistance programs that many people were not eligible for, and that Lesko misrepresented examples of people who had taken advantage of government programs.[9]

The New York Times criticized him for having implied a current association with the paper long after ending a 1992–1994 Times column.[10]

In 2005, Lesko was named #99 in Bernard Goldberg's book 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America because, "He is a symbol for self-centered free-riders."[11]

In an interview with The Washington Post in July 2007, Lesko admitted having assembled his books from government guides to grants and loans, quoting Lesko as saying of his first book "I plagiarized the whole thing" and "I didn't write a lick." Lesko later added "I get stuff for free and I sell it for as much as I can get."[12] But in the last couple paragraphs of the same article, the author cites the names of multiple people who have actually used Lesko's books and teachings to get free money for several different things, everything from having their roof replaced on their home to "a local government program that gave them $12,000 to help pay for a gravel walkway for their cows."[13]

In popular culture

Books

Matthew Lesko's company, Information USA, has published several reference books including:

All of his books claim to contain information about how to get free money from the United States government.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2005 . Questions for Matthew Lesko, the Question Mark Man . The Black Table . I have a yellow Mini Cooper with question marks on it. I have a little orange Scion with question marks on it ... I usually ride around on a Vespa with question marks on it. Question marks are my anti-theft device. . November 16, 2015.
  2. Book: Rechcigl, Miloslav . Notable Americans of Czechoslovak Ancestry in Arts and Letters and in Education . AuthorHouse . 2021 . 9781665540063 . Bloomington . 1031 . EN.
  3. Web site: 1920 . 1920 United States Federal Census . Ancestry.com.
  4. Triplett, William. "Matthew Lesko The 'Free Money' Man: Asking the Right Questions", Vietnam Veterans of America, The VVA Veteran Online magazine, May/June 2019. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  5. News: The Facts Fanciers... From Cocoa Beans to Clothespins. Kernan. Michael. March 20, 1979. The Washington Post. .
  6. News: Media Fast Track. January 13, 1980. The Washington Post. Proquest.
  7. News: Media Fast Track. April 25, 1982. The Washington Post. .
  8. News: Marked Man: Washington's Infomercial King? Matthew Lesko, No Question. . The Washington Post . July 15, 2007 . July 15, 2007 . Peter . Carlson.
  9. Web site: 2004 . How misleading advertising is feeding a nationwide boom in government grant scams . New York State Consumer Protection Board . April 30, 2006 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061207041420/http://www.consumer.state.ny.us/pdf/misleading_grant_guides.pdf . December 7, 2006.
  10. News: Joseph P. . Fred . Free Money? Sure. Heard of Food Stamps? . . March 3, 2005 . April 22, 2006. "In August 2006, Lesko modified his credentials on his Web site, lesko.com, which described him (as his books did) as a columnist for Good Housekeeping Magazine and The New York Times Syndicate. He wrote the magazine column in the 1980s and the column for the syndicate from 1992 to 1994. Both organizations recently told him that these did not justify his suggestion of a current association."
  11. Web site: Bernard Goldberg's 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America? And Why?. Philosophy History. Philip . Dhingra. August 8, 2005. He is a symbol for self-centered free-riders.
  12. News: The Washington Post. Peter. Carlson. July 15, 2007. Marked Man.
  13. News: 2007-07-15 . Marked Man . 2024-05-25 . en-US . 0190-8286.

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