Bernie Madoff had no limits to the people he ripped off in his $65 billion Ponzi scheme with celebrities, billionaires, charities and even retirees all falling victim to his epic securities swindle.
Madoff, who died on Wednesday while serving a 150-year prison sentence, robbed 37,000 victims in 136 countries over two decades before he was arrested back in 2008.
His victims, large and small, included individuals, charities, pension funds and hedge funds.
Among those he betrayed were actors Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick and John Malkovich; baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax; director Steven Spielberg and New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon.
Bernie Madoff, who died on Wednesday while serving a 150-year prison sentence, robbed 37,000 victims in 136 countries over two decades before he was arrested back in 2008
Some victims, including those who could barely afford to invest in the first place, lost their entire life savings and several later committed suicide as a result.
Many of his victims came from the Jewish community where Madoff had been a major philanthropist.
Among them was Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel whose foundation lost $15.2 million.
‘We thought he was God. We trusted everything in his hands,’ Wiesel said in 2009.
His higher-profile victims included Kevin Bacon and wife Kyra Sedgwick; actor John Malkovich and TV host Larry King who all lost an undisclosed amount of money in their dealings with Madoff.
Steven Spielberg’s Wunderkinder Foundation was also among the victims but the exact loss is not known.
Actor John Malkovich lost $2.23 million after investing with Madoff.
The owners of the New York Mets, who were longtime Madoff clients, struggled for years to field a good baseball team because of losses they suffered.
Several lawmakers were also caught up, including New Jersey Senator Loretta Weinberg, who had her life savings of $1.3 million wiped out.
He attracted a devoted legion of investment clients from Florida retirees to the rich and famous including director Steven Spielberg (right), actor Kevin Bacon (left) and former New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon
Actor John Malkovich lost $2.23 million after investing with Madoff
Several lawmakers were also caught up, including New Jersey Senator Loretta Weinberg, who had her life savings of $1.3 million wiped out. The late Senator Frank Lautenberg’s charity invested nearly $12.8 million with Madoff
The late Senator Frank Lautenberg’s charity invested nearly $12.8 million with Madoff.
At least two hedge fund managers who invested their clients’ money with Madoff ended up committing suicide.
New York hedge fund executive Charles Murphy, whose fund lost $50 million in Madoff’s scheme, jumped from the 24th floor of the Sofitel New York Hotel in 2017.
French financier Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet killed himself in Manhattan in 2008 after losing more than $1 billion in the Ponzi scheme.
Among the everyday individuals who invested with Madoff was New Yorker Sharon Lissauer who lost everything when she handed over her inheritance from her mother.
Connecticut retiree Miriam Siegman, who was among those to speak at Madoff’s sentencing, said she had been discarded like ‘road kill’ by the financier.
She said at the time that she was forced to live on food stamps as a result.
Many of Madoff’s victims were in court to see him sentenced to 150 years in prison. They applauded as he was led off in handcuffs.
Among them was Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel whose foundation lost $15.2 million. ‘We thought he was God. We trusted everything in his hands,’ Wiesel said in 2009
New York hedge fund executive Charles Murphy, whose fund lost $50 million in Madoff’s scheme, jumped from the 24th floor of the Sofitel New York Hotel in 2017. French financier Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet killed himself in Manhattan in 2008 after losing more than $1 billion in the Ponzi scheme
‘He stole from the rich. He stole from the poor. He stole from the in between. He had no values,’ former investor Tom Fitzmaurice told the judge at the sentencing.
‘He cheated his victims out of their money so he and his wife… could live a life of luxury beyond belief.’
After sentencing, a judge issued a forfeiture order stripping Madoff of all his personal property, including real estate, investments and $80 million in assets his wife, Ruth, had claimed were hers.
Over the years, court-appointed trustees laboring to unwind the scheme have recovered more than $14 billion of an estimated $17.5 billion investors put into Madoff’s business.
The trustees were appointed to recover funds from Madoff’s scheme – sometimes by suing hedge funds and other large investors who came out ahead – and divvying up those proceeds to victims.
The effort is still ongoing and to date has returned around 70 percent of lost funds to investors.
More than 15,400 claims against Madoff were filed.
According to the Madoff Victim Fund, more than $3 billion has been paid out to victims so far.
The Department of Justice said in December that it had begun paying out approximately $488 million to help individuals, schools, charities, pension plans and other recoup their losses.
The government fund is managed by former US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Richard Breeden and comes mainly from settlements with Madoff’s former bank JPMorgan Chase & Co and the estate of former Madoff investor Jeffry Picower.
Connecticut retiree Miriam Siegman (above after Madoff was found guilty), who was among those to speak at Madoff’s sentencing, said she had been discarded like ‘road kill’ by the financier. She said at the time that she was forced to live on food stamps as a result
Among the everyday individuals who invested with Madoff was New Yorker Sharon Lissauer who lost everything when she handed over her inheritance from her mother. She is pictured leaving court the day Madoff was jailed
