"Good government only happens when the people working in it do their jobs, and do them well." -- Matthew Lesko
Matthew Lesko (born May 11, 1943) is an American author, self-proclaimed federal grant researcher, and infomercial personality. He has authored over 20 reference books telling people how to get "free" money from the United States government. He is popularly known as "that question mark guy" for the Riddler-like suits that he wears in his television commercials, infomercials, interviews, and in his everyday life.
Lesko lives near Washington, D.C. with his third wife Wendy Schaetzel Lesko and their two sons, Max and Morgan. He grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Lesko received his undergraduate degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, then went to Vietnam as a navigator for the U.S. Navy. When Lesko returned he earned a master's degree in business administration (MBA) from American University in Washington D.C. He claims to have researched government grants for over 25 years.
Lesko is known for his colorful suits decorated with question marks. Mr. Lesko sometimes wears one of his "question mark suits" during his daily activities in and around Washington, D.C., and drives a vehicle with question marks on it: at various points he has driven a yellow Mini Cooper, an orange Scion, and a Vespa scooter.
"A big part of finding the right resources is knowing what to look for and what to avoid.""A degree of lying - you know, white lies - seems to be inherent in all languages and all forms of communication.""An estimated 2 million American women will be diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer this decade and screening could prevent up to 30% of these deaths for women over 40.""Anyone can make anyone else look bad if they really want to pull things apart enough.""As I've said before, free money scams are a problem.""Government workers often get a bad rap, but it's rare for them to receive much appreciation when government works.""I am providing a service that many people obviously value.""I can't help thinking if she - the director of a government agency - is this ignorant about what funding is available and where the money comes from - how often lower-level bureaucrats must give wrong answers when people are looking for help to start a business.""I've been bragging for over 25 years that my first New York Times bestseller was a book I copied from the U.S. Government Printing Office!""I've been giving free money seminars for the troops at Walter Reed Hospital and one of the Iraqi War Vets realized that the military wouldn't pay for the dental work he needed.""I've been talking about the centrality of libraries in our information society for a while now.""I've done a dozen or two dozen infomercials.""If the government did a good job of publicizing this information, my products wouldn't sell.""Liberals like using government to solve problems in OUR country and conservatives are using our government to solve problems in OTHER countries.""Many of you might already recognize me as the guy in the question-mark suits appearing in the late night TV commercials and on the cover of educational books and CDs.""Many scammers are only using personal checks for payment because they can take the money and run.""Most every dental school has discount dental services.""My business has doubled in ways I couldn't have imagined.""No salesman can ever guarantee you a grant from any government or non-profit organization.""Not offering this kind of guarantee means that they do not believe in their product enough, and they do not care about if a salesman is over promising or over selling their product.""One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard to get and just aren't available for regular people like you and I.""So if there is a government grant offered for anything, like starting a business or going to school, they cannot discriminate because of your age.""Some of the best health care services are free or cost very little and are even available to millionaires but hardly anyone knows they exist.""Teachers can go on cruises with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and anyone can spend the summer as a volunteer in a National Parks and even earn money doing it.""The way we've been neglecting to support our libraries throughout the country is a shame.""There are few in America that really know how to take advantage of the current health care system.""There are many programs specifically aimed at helping people in poverty start a business.""There are thousands and thousands of free programs available for people of any income level.""There are thousands of grant programs and every program has different requirements and deadlines.""We all have to stand by our life's work as the true test of what we have done for the world.""What I do in my book is let people know about these programs.""What is also strange to me is that public libraries have always been in the forefront of opposing censorship."
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.
The New York Times criticized him for having implied a current association with the paper long after ending a 1992-94 NYT column."In August 2006, Mr. 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."
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."
In an interview with the Washington Post in July 2007, Lesko admitted having assembled his books from government guides to grants and loans: "His business model is simple: 'I get stuff for free and I sell it for as much as I can get.'"
In the season four episode of The Venture Bros. titled "The Better Man", Jefferson Twilight trains with cardboard cut-outs of various villains. When one of the cut-outs turns out to be Matthew Lesko, Jefferson explains that he mistook Lesko for a villain "he was wearing punctuation on his suit", like that worn by the Batman villain The Riddler. The Alchemist contends that he "helps people get free money from the government" and therefore is a good guy.
Comedian Andy Dick parodied Matthew Lesko on his show, The Andy Dick Show.
