After leaving office, President Ulysses S. Grant was facing financial failure after a series of bad investments and lavish living. His son had started his own investment firm with a friend named Ferdinand Ward. Grant agreed to let Ward handle his money. What Grant and his son didn't know was that Ward was running a large Ponzi scheme, and was pocketing Grant's money for years. In poor health and close to bankruptcy, Grant decided he would sell his memoirs. He began writing, but was diagnosed with cancer while working on the project.