The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 Paris Exposition and was not intended to be permanent. Gustave Eiffel, the man who designed the Eiffel Tower, was also behind the design for the Statue of Liberty’s spine. This the most-visited paid monument in the world: 6.98 million people in 2011. Con artist Victor Lustig “sold” the Eiffel Tower to a scrap metal dealer.