Bernie Madoff
Bernie Madoff, the infamous creator of a Ponzi scheme that left thousands of investors with empty pockets and left him with a 150-year prison sentence, passed away in prison Wednesday. Madoff was 82 years old.
Madoff had a reputation as a self-made financial genius who could defy market volatility for decades. He reeled in a loyal army of investing clients, from celebrities like film director Steven Spielberg and actor Kevin Bacon to Florida retirees. Madoff was able to attract so many investors because he was a longtime chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange. Who would expect the chairman of the Nasdaq to scam them?
In 2008, Madoff’s investment advisory services were exposed as a Ponzi scheme, causing thousands of investors to lose their life savings. He secretly used cash from new investors to pay returns to old investors, faking like he earned those returns legitimately in the markets. But Madoff hadn’t even bought or sold a single security!
After his scam came crashing down and the dust settled, the losses amounted to $64.8 billion — the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Madoff became so hated that he wore a bulletproof vest to court. People lost their money and their homes, but more than money was lost.
A big Madoff investor died of a heart attack after months of stressful lawsuits over his role in the Ponzi scheme. Two people died by suicide over their losses, and others had ruined relationships with family and friends they had unintentionally led astray.
Why would the chairman of the Nasdaq engage in such shady and grimy behavior? One word — greed.
Today’s special mention goes out to Fantasy Finance user @rileyosberg for closing their trade in Ethereum USD resulting in a 30% gain in 5 days!
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
