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Bernard L. Madoff, Ponzie scheme mastermind, dies at 82

April 14th, 2021 | Tags:
Like Charles Ponzi, whose 1920 con earned him a place in the annals of crime, Bernard Madoff seemed to deliver stunning returns to his clients, when in fact he was paying existing investors with money from new ones Photo: Jin Lee/Bloomberg News
ALJAZEERA

NEW YORK, USA - Bernard L. Madoff, the Manhattan investment adviser who promised stellar returns to his A-list clients and instead defrauded them of more than $19 billion in history’s largest Ponzi scheme, has died. He was 82.

His death was confirmed by the New York law firm of Brandon Sample, Madoff’s attorney. Madoff’s home since July 2009 was the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina, where he was serving a 150-year term. He requested compassionate early release, citing end-stage kidney disease, in February 2020.

Like Charles Ponzi, whose 1920 con earned him a place in the annals of crime, Madoff seemed to deliver stunning returns to his clients, when in fact he was paying existing investors with money from new ones.

Unlike Ponzi, who soared and fell in the course of one year, Madoff achieved a level of respect and acclaim among finance professionals — he was chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market in 1990, 1991 and 1993 – and kept his ruse going for at least 15 years, even under the gaze of regulators who visited his office to inspect his records.

His thousands of clients entrusted him with more than $19 billion in principal and were led to believe, through fake statements and trade confirmations, that they had almost $65 billion among them in their accounts. Irving Picard, the trustee appointed to unwind the accounts, had recovered more than $14.4 billion to partially reimburse clients who lost money.

Madoff’s big-name investors included Fred Wilpon, then-majority owner of the New York Mets; husband-and-wife actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick; Henry Kaufman, former chief economist at Salomon Brothers; the late Boston philanthropist Carl Shapiro; two of Europe’s wealthiest women, Alicia Koplowitz of Spain and Lilliane Bettencourt of France; charitable foundations of director Steven Spielberg and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel; and New York and Yeshiva universities.

Contributing to Madoff’s facade was the existence of legitimate businesses alongside the fraudulent one at his firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

The company’s market-making and proprietary-trading units, run by his sons and brother, occupied the 18th and 19th floors of the red, cylindrical Lipstick Building in Midtown Manhattan. Madoff’s 17th-floor office, where the fraud was run, was off-limits to most employees.

With his promise to deliver steady returns through markets bullish and bearish, Madoff built such a sterling reputation that he had to turn some prospective investors away. He owned homes in Manhattan and Montauk in New York state, Palm Beach in Florida, and Cap d’Antibes on the French Riviera. He sailed on a yacht called “Bull” and lavished jewelry on his wife, Ruth.

 

4 Responses to “Bernard L. Madoff, Ponzie scheme mastermind, dies at 82”

  • The Man From Above (14/04/2021, 20:16) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
    To Manhattan, NYC USA. Sin city #2. YOUR ARMS TOO SHORT TO BOX WITH GOD! Sins, greed and wickedness are not the way. Instead, PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD
  • taxman (14/04/2021, 20:40) Like (6) Dislike (1) Reply
    The BVI probably has a lot to thank Mr Madoff for. Lots of money made here off the back of his investment funds
  • FEO GOMEZ (15/04/2021, 11:13) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    Good man that. He took nothing from the poor or people with a little something going on. He fraud out only the wealthy and super wealthy. LOVE IT!
    • Bree (16/04/2021, 14:04) Like (3) Dislike (0) Reply
      @Feo Gomez:

      He did rob the poor or people with a little something going on. Have your ever heard about Pension Plans or Retirement Savings. Some of us put monies in these and our Financial advisor invested in some of his schemes. We lost almost every thing. Imagine still having to work past your retirement years just to make ends meet. Believing your were investing in securing your future for this to happen to you. Are you still happy about that?


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