Diners Club’s famous origin story was invented by its own publicist.
The legend says Frank McNamara forgot his wallet at a 1949 dinner and invented the card out of embarrassment. Matty Simmons, the club’s first publicist, later admitted he made it up. Sure the club would level off at 250,000 members, McNamara sold his stake in 1952 for a reported $200,000.
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