The Nicotine Lottery is the Unauthorized Biography of three brothers who each built fortunes exceeding several billion dollars. Maximilian, Gerald and Linus Levus built empires from nothing. They collect money from almost every household in America. They collect thousands of dollars every year from people like me and you. They are the great American tollbooths. Their stories defy logic. Their stories are too strange not to be true. People who know the Levuses have very different opinions of them. Some consider them brilliant. Others think they were lucky. A few say they are clowns. However, nobody can say that Max, Gerald and Linus are not successful. No family has had a greater impact on Post World War II American society in general and commerce in particular. I conducted 274 interviews over three years with Levus associates, neighbors, doctors, lawyers, employees, advisors, teachers, classmates and anyone else that had contact with the brothers. Many of these people agreed to speak with me on the condition of anonymity. They were afraid of retribution from the Levuses. They told me that the family guarded their privacy with their fortunes. I decided long ago that no fortune could buy my silence. The truth must be told. This is their unauthorized biography. Maximilian, Gerald and Linus Levus are the ROBBER BARONS of our time. --Zeke Matthews