Disgraced Wall Street financier Bernie Madoff died in prison of terminal kidney disease at the age of 82 on Wednesday, while serving a 150-year prison sentence for defrauding over 40,000 investors.
Over a period of decades, Madoff swindled clients out of $65 billion, in what amounted to be the largest investment scheme in the history of the nation. The Ponzi scheme came crashing down in 2008, along with the rest of the market, when his clients tried to pull their investments due to the financial crisis.
Madoff confessed the scam to his two sons, Mark and Andrew, both were senior managers at the firm, who promptly alerted authorities in December 2008. Four months later, he pleaded guilty to 11 federal crimes, including securities fraud and money laundering, and was given the maximum sentence of 150 years in federal prison.
The Wall Street banker defrauded individual investors, pension funds, and billionaires alike, some of his high-profile clients include celebrities, lawmakers, and a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Married actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick lost an undisclosed amount, as did late radio host Larry King and director Steven Spielberg’s charity the Wunderkinder Foundation. Actor John Malkovich was robbed of his $2.23 million investment, and Zsa Zsa Gábor was taken for $10 million.
“We thought he was God. We trusted everything in his hands,” said Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. His foundation was swindled out of $15.2 million.
Madoff was also ordered to pay restitution of $170 million, so far court-appointed trustees have recovered more than $14 billion and have paid out over $3 billion to investors.
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And here I thought that Social Security was the world’s greatest Ponzi scheme.
Aren’t they paying past investors using current contributions? Isn’t that the definition of a Ponzi scheme?
Cry me a river, they had all this money and the greed in them wanted more. cry me a river when most people are living paycheck to paycheck these greed hungry elites only want more to build their bank accounts, I have no pity for them.
Yeah, to bad he didn’t get away with it and die on them at home. Would have really showed them how stupid they were. “No Free Lunch” at my level anyway!
I don’t like theft of any kind. Hopefully some learned not to love money, but to love Almighty God instead. When we leave this world nothing goes with us except souls. If we put our trust in our Heavenly Father, He will make sure we are provided for. Eternal life, love, family, looking after the less fortunate is far, far, far more important than these temporary things. I pray those stolen from opened their eyes to what is really important.
Yuh yuh yuh. Shut the hell up with your arrogant, though ludicrous religions crap.
AHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ALL you “WOKE” SOB’S keep trying to impress on the rest of us how smart and great you are. Apparently NOT so much? You pay your dime and take your chances just like the rest of us. Better mind your OWN BUSINESS next time instead of telling us what to do.
HA,HA,HA Really hurts my feelings. NOT!
Let’s see, swindled 65 Billion, recovered 14B, have returned 3B to investors, ordered restitution only 170 MILLION, , , hmmm, who says CRIME does not pay??? Plus, Did OUR Government keeps the remaining amounts of money??? Smells like a Dead Fish and someone coming out smelling like a Rose!!!!!
That’s Over 50 BILLION DOLLARS NOT accounted for, How Can sooo much money get hidden away from Our government & the IRS?? Plus, 14 Billion Recovery & Only 3 Billion returned to investors! Who’s holding the other 11 BILLION Dollars & WHY has it not been Returned to the LITTLE Investors first?? F**k the rich people and Hollywood Elites large amounts loss they are wealthy and greedy, don’t deserve!! Did our politicians get their hands on the money? If so, it’s over & Gone Forever!
Hope All celebs are suffering!!
Whenever you have attorneys involved you have theft, cheating, and lies. For instance if they have recovered $14 billion and only returned $3 billion, what are they doing with the $11 billion – operating their own Ponzi?
The world will NEVER learn how EVIL some folks are,,Bernie Hope you are having a hard time explaining to our Savior just how EVIL you are and were for a lot of years.SHAME,SHAME