The Match King (1932)

Fictionalized story of Ivan Kreuger who became rich by controlling a matchstick monopoly in Europe, even rescuing whole nations by buying the right to exclusively sell matches in that country. However, the entire enterprise was a Ponzi Scheme that was impossible to maintain itself indefinitely.

Warren William plays Paul Kroll, a ruthless scumbag that will do anything to keep his empire running. He has agents in countries all over the world keeping ears and eyes open in order to report any new developments that would be advantageous to Kroll.He also creates the superstition that it's bad luck to light three cigarettes from one match just to sell more matches. 

View trailer at TCM.com.