Bernie Madoff Net Worth

How much was Bernie Madoff worth?

Net Worth:-$17 Billion
Profession:Professional Market Maker
Date of Birth:April 29, 1938
Country:United States of America
Height:
1.71 m

About Bernie Madoff

Bernard Lawrence Madoff (April 29, 1938 – April 14, 2021) was an American fraudster and financier with an estimated net worth of -$17 billion. Bernie Madoff was a former Chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange who started his own investment advisory firm. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to defrauding investors in the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion.

American former market maker, investment advisor, financier and convicted fraudster Bernie Madoff had an estimated net worth of -$17 billion at the time of his death, in April 2021. The convicted swindler Bernie Madoff owned net assets of at least $823 million as of the close of 2008, court records show.

Bernie Lawrence Madoff: April 29, 1938, Queens, New York.

How much was Madoff’s estate worth?

Despite owing a debt of some $17 billion dollars to scammed investors. According to Wikipedia, Madoff retained an estate of $16 million at the time of his death in 2021. His will left his estranged wife, Ruth Madoff, a substantial fraction of his estate. He also apparently set up a trust which left $50,000 a month to Catherine Hooper and their daughter. Hooper has told reporters that the trust fund was tied up amid legal disputes and that she had not received any money from it. She said she had downsized to a 500 sq ft (46 m2) apartment, where she and her daughter shared a set of bunkbeds.

What did Bernie Madoff do?

Before his arrest in 2008, Bernie Madoff served as the chairman of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, which he started in 1960. In addition to Madoff’s sons Mark and Andrew, the company also employed Madoff’s brother Peter as senior managing director and chief compliance officer, Shana Madoff, the attorney and rules and compliance officer for Peter Madoff.

Early in December 2008, when the American economy began to collapse, Madoff was unable to fulfill the payment requirements from his investors. He had to eventually own up to his actions and make amends. Wall Street and the rest of the globe were shocked when he acknowledged to running this Ponzi scheme.

Who was cheated by Madoff?

Many of Madoff’s investors deposited their whole life savings with him because of his stellar reputation in the financial industry. A philanthropic foundation supported by Steven Spielberg, actor Kevin Bacon, the New York Mets’ owners, and others was among Madoff’s investors. Madoff conned large banks and pension funds. Examples include the British bank HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Korean Teachers Pension, and the Spanish bank Banco Santander. Some of Madoff’s individual investors are genuinely homeless, residing in automobiles and recreational vehicles. All of Madoff’s victims were included in a list by The Wall Street Journal.

It was a significant financial hoax that had impacted numerous people, including prominent investors and some very wealthy people. According to Lovemoney, celebrities who lost money in the Ponzi scheme include Steven Spielberg, Tiger Woods, Kiefer Sutherland, Billy Joel, Robert De Niro, John McEnroe, Sting, Ben Stiller, Sandy Koufax, Jack Nicholson, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Liv Tyler, Elie Wiesel, John Malkovich, Noel Edmonds, Cindy Crawford, and Kevin Bacon.

What happened to the money and Madoff?

In addition to other charges, securities fraud was one to which Bernie Madoff pled guilty. He was given a sentence of 150 years in a maximum security facility. He is now serving his sentence. Since Madoff’s arrest, the courts have been going through his financial documents. They are attempting to determine which of his investors should be paid off and how to pay off his investors with the money they can discover. From behind bars, Madoff claims that the large institutions he scammed as part of his scheme were involved.

What Happened to Madoff’s Family?

Mark and Andrew Madoff, his two sons, both worked for his company, but they did so in a department unrelated to the Ponzi scheme dad was operating. However, despite being the subject of inquiries and being mentioned in lawsuits, neither was charged with a crime. To the best of our knowledge, Bernie Madoff was solely responsible for the approximately $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

Mark Madoff committed suicide in his New York City apartment complex two years to the day after Madoff was detained for operating a Ponzi scheme. Although he did not leave a suicide note, both of his brothers were extremely resentful of their father and had not spoken to them in two years.

Bernie Madoff’s wife, Ruth, stopped visiting Madoff while he was incarcerated in order to make amends with her son, Andrew. She reached a $2.5 million settlement with the government. She disclosed that she and Bernie had discussed suicide before he revealed his Ponzi scheme, but they decided against it.

Truth and Consequences: Life in the Madoff Family is a book that Catherine Hooper, Andrew Madoff’s fiancée, co-wrote with Laurie Sandell. The book will not bring in money for Andrew and Ruth Madoff, but Andrew’s fiancée will. Many Madoff Ponzi scheme victims are irate about this and believe the profits should be used to pay back the victims.

Other Ponzi schemes were also exposed after Madoff’s Ponzi scam, although none even came close to matching the scale of the Ponzi operation Bernie Madoff was operating.

There Were Many More Madoff Investors

Investors included former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles Norman Braman, GMAC Chairman J. Ezra Merkin, and New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon. Real estate tycoon Mortimer Zuckerman, Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel’s foundation, and a Steven Spielberg nonprofit all suffered significant losses as well. Up to $11 million was held by certain investors, which accounted for 95% of their whole net worth. French bank BNP Paribas, Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings, and Neue Privat Bank in Zurich were among the banks that had money invested. Maxam Capital Management, a hedge fund, lost $280 million.

Did the SIPC Pay for Madoff Losses?

Only those who made investments through Madoff’s brokerage firm and not through his investment advising firm were insured by the Securities Investor Protection Corp. (SIPC). Losses resulting from theft and proved unauthorized trading, which may include a Ponzi scheme, are covered by the SIPC up to a maximum of $500,000. However, the SIPC only has $1.5 billion, so if it turned out that it was necessary to fund the entire $50 billion, it would have to go back to Congress. Hedge funds and other non-SEC-registered investments are not covered by SIPC. (Source: WSJ, Fund Fraud Hits Big Names, December 13, 2008; Are Investors Safe from Fallout, December 14, 2008)

Marriage of Ruth and Bernie Madoff

Ruth and Bernie Madoff, who have been married for close to 50 years and have built a prosperous partnership, must deal with the legal repercussions of Bernie’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme as well as the victims. Bernie received a 150-year prison term from the federal government.

Ruth was forced to give up all of her possessions except $2.5 million despite not being charged of any wrongdoing.

Ruth and Bernie’s First Met

While attending New York’s Far Rockaway High School, Bernie and Ruth became friends. Ruth graduated in 1958, whereas Bernie did so in 1956.

Marriage Date

On November 28, 1959, Ruth and Bernie were wed at the Laurelton Jewish Center.

Mark Seal: “Their wedding was described as a “very nice Jewish wedding-sit-down dinner …”
Source (includes photo of Bernie and Ruth Madoff): Mark Seal. “Madoff’s World.” VanityFair.com. 4/2009.

Children

Ruth and Bernie have two sons. Their sons were the ones who alerted the federal investigators of the Ponzi scheme.

  • Mark Madoff: Born abt. 1964. Mark had four children. He committed suicide on 12/11/2010 at the age of 46.
  • Andrew Madoff: Born abt. 1966. Andrew died at the age of 48 on September 4, 2014 at Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City. He had mantle cell lymphoma. 

Mark Seal: “He [Bernie] loved his sons, but he never showed it,” said a family friend. “Mostly tough love and fear. People were afraid of Bernie. He wielded this influence. They were afraid of his temper.”
Source: Mark Seal. “Madoff’s World.”  VanityFair.com. 4/2009.

Occupations

Bernie: Investment broker, investment adviser, owner of an investment-advisory business, Bernie L. Madoff investment Securities LLC.

“The owner’s name is on the door. Clients know that Bernie Madoff has a personal interest in maintaining the unblemished record of value, fair-dealing, and high ethical standards that has always been the firm’s hallmark.”
Source: Cached version of Madoff.com.

Ruth: Co-trustee of the Madoff Family Foundation, nutritionist, cookbook editor.

“From the start, Ruth’s office was right next to her husband’s.”
Source: Mark Seal. “Madoff’s World.” VanityFair.com. 4/2009.

Alice Leigh Cowan: “Karen MacNeil, a food and wine expert who was given the title of editor of the project, beneath the two executive editors —- Mrs. Madoff and her friend Idee Schoenheimer —- disclosed in an interview with The New York Times that she was paid to write the cookbook in its entirety.”
Source: Alison Leigh Cowan. “A Madoff Cookbook Has a Secret, Too.”  NYTimes.com 1/14/2009.

Residences

Bernie Madoff is at the Metropolitan Corrections Center awaiting a decision as to which federal prison he will be assigned to for his 150-year sentence.

“Madoff is now in jail at the Metropolitan Corrections Center, very near the Federal courthouse building where he made his plea. And he is now known as inmate #61727054.”
Source: “Bernie Madoff’s New Digs: From Penthouse to Outhouse.”CNBC.com. 3/12/2009.

Before the Ponzi scheme investigation, Bernie and Ruth owned quite a few homes homes including ones in Montauk, New York, Roslyn, New York, the Upper East Side of Manhattan, a mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, and a home in France. These homes and other personal property were forfeited.

The Case

On July 2, 2009, three days after her husband Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in federal prison, Ruth Madoff was evicted from their $7 million penthouse in New York and surrendered personal property in the penthouse.

Joseph Kavanau: “… the first home Mr. Madoff shared with his bride was a modest, one-bedroom apartment in Bayside, Queens.”
Source: Julie Creswell, Landon Thomas Jr. “The Talented Mr. Madoff.”NYTimes.com. 1/24/2009.

Ruth Madoff, written statement: “I am embarrassed and ashamed. Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused. The man who committed this horrible fraud is not the man whom I have known for all these years.”
Source: Jack Healy. “Madoff Sentenced to 150 Years for Ponzi Scheme.” NYTimes.com. 6/29/2009.

Bernie Madoff at sentencing hearing: “How can you excuse lying to and deceiving your wife who still stands by you?”
Source: Aaron Smith. “Madoff sentenced to 150 years.” Money.cnn.com. 6/29/2009.

Eleanor Squillari: “Her [Ruth] apparent insecurity was surprising, but it was there, especially when it came to Bernie. She wanted to be perfect for him. She would never allow herself to gain weight or have a hair out of place, and she always kept an eagle eye on him, especially when he was around young, attractive women.”
Source: Mark Seal, Eleanor Squillari. “What the Secretary Saw.” VanityFair.com. June 2009.

Randy Cohen: “Marriage is a partnership. If you reap its rewards, you bear some responsibility for the way they accrue … She seems bright; she seems capable; she seems to have transferred millions of dollars just before his arrest. She was not entirely detached from his affairs.”
Source: Randy Cohen. “Ruth Madoff’s Duty” NYTimes.com. 4/28/09.

David Segal: “To friends, they were “Bernie-and-Ruth” or “Ruth-and-Bernie,” a pair so inseparable that you wouldn’t mention one without the other.

After nearly 50 years of marriage, they worked in the same Midtown Manhattan office, they traveled together, and they dined together night after night, just the two of them … She wears a simple wedding band, rather than the oversize diamond that is the ring of choice among New York’s moneyed elite.”
Source: David Segal, Alison Leigh Cowan. “Madoffs Shared Much; Question Is How Much.” NYTimes.com 1/14/2009.

Rachel Silverman: “It’s hard to imagine being married to someone for decades and notknow what he was up to. As one childhood friend of Ruth’s and an investor in Madoff’s hedge fund told the Times: “All I will say on the subject is that it’s hard to imagine that she could live with the guy for 50 years and have no inkling.”
Source: Rachel Emma Silverman. “Madoff’s Marriage and the Secrets Between Spouses.” Wsj.com. 2/16/2009.

Douglas Feiden: “The girls among the 512-student Class of 1956 held little interest for Madoff because he had already met his future wife, the perky Ruth Alpern, from the Class of 1958.
Source: Douglas Feiden. “Bernie Madoff had a job saving lives, now he’s killed dreams.” NYDailyNews.com. 12/21/2008.

Ruth: “After college I married Bernie Madoff, FRHS class of ’55,'” she wrote in an update for the 50th reunion of the Far Rockaway High School in Queens. “Bernie and I worked together in the investment business he founded in 1960.”
Source: “Times Topics: Ruth Madoff.” NYTimes.com.

Julie Creswell: “He [Bernie] was, for instance, an avid collector of vintage watches and took time each morning to match his wedding ring — he owned at least two — to the platinum or gold watch band he was wearing that day.”
Source: Julie Creswell, Landon Thomas Jr. “The Talented Mr. Madoff.” NYTimes.com. 1/24/2009.

Diana Henriques: “With his wife, Ruth Madoff, a nutritionist and cookbook editor, they were considered affable and charming people. “They stood out,” Reisman said. “Success, philanthropy, esteem – and, if you were lucky enough to be with him as an investor, money.”
Source: Diana Henriques. “Vast Wall St. scheme knew no boundaries.” International Herald Tribune. 12/22/2008. pg 12.

Mark Seal: “According to one observer, Ruth allegedly did not allow her husband to travel alone for more than one day. “She didn’t let Bernie out of her sight.”
Source: Mark Seal. “Madoff’s World.” VanityFair.com. 4/2009.

Keith Dovkants: “Anger over Madoff’s fraud is running high and a lot has been directed against the Madoffs as a couple. A Palm Beach socialite said Ruth played a crucial role in getting people to invest. She said: “They were a real pair at the country club.” Networking among very rich people there is about the best on earth. When there is a cocktail party, husbands always bring their wives and people would try to get to Bernie through Ruth.”
Source: Keith Dovkants. “How I was stung by the oh so charming Madoffs …” The Evening Standard. 12/22/2008. pg 20.

Lord Jacobs: Now friends, such as Lord Jacobs, are left wondering how much the elegant and highly-likeable Mrs Madoff knew about what was happening. “It seems impossible that he could have acted alone,” Lord Jacobs said. “I found Ruth a rather quiet lady, concerned with her charity work. But she’s certainly no fool and his sons were closely involved in the business.” Investigators working for the Securities and Exchange Commission have discovered evidence that Mrs Madoff, 67, monitored financial transactions in her husband’s firm. It was also reported in New York that the SEC had discovered her name on a number of deals.”
Source: Keith Dovkants. “How I was stung by the oh so charming Madoffs …” The Evening Standard. 12/22/2008. pg 20.

Mark Seal: “Their wedding was described as a “very nice Jewish wedding-sit-down dinner …”
Source (includes photo of Bernie and Ruth Madoff): Mark Seal. “Madoff’s World.” VanityFair.com. 4/2009.

Joseph Kavanau: “… the first home Mr. Madoff shared with his bride was a modest, one-bedroom apartment in Bayside, Queens.”
Source: Julie Creswell, Landon Thomas Jr. “The Talented Mr. Madoff.” NYTimes.com. 1/24/2009.

Convicted on 11 counts, sentenced to serve 150 years, Bernie Madoff continues to be in the news as the investigation about his Ponzi scheme forced Bernie and Ruth Madoff to forfeit their homes, investments, vehicles, boats, etc.

12/13/2010: While Bernie Madoff will not attend his son’s funeral, his wife “Ruth Madoff is, ‘totally disgusted with [Bernie] and blames him for her son’s death,’ [Jerry]

Oppenheimer tells the New York Post. ‘She thinks this is the end of the family.'”
Source: “Mark Madoff Funeral: author Says Ruth Madoff Claims Husband’s Ponzi Scheme Drove Son to Suicide.” HuffingtonPost.com. 12/13/2010.

8/15/2009: In her book, Madoff’s Other Secret: Love, Money, Bernie, and Me (Compare Prices), Sheryl Weinstein alleged that she had a long affair with Bernie Madoff. “An attorney for Madoff’s wife, Ruth Madoff, said his client did not know about the “alleged affair.” The attorney, Peter Chavkin, said the allegations were a powerful reminder to those who claim Ruth Madoff knew about her husband’s massive Ponzi scheme “that there are some things that some spouses — however close they are — do not share with each other.” Source: Larry Neumeister, AP. “Book: Madoff victim tells of secret 20-year affair.” WashingtonPost.com. 8/15/2009.

7/13/2009: Bernie Madoff, aka prisoner 61727-054, was transferred to the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina. According to The Associated Press, “under federal regulations, the lengthy prison term Madoff received at his June 29 sentencing made him ineligible for placement in a minimum- security prison.”

7/06/2009: The court system was ordered by a federal judge to return Ruth Madoff’s passport.

7/02/2009: Ruth Madoff was evicted from their $7 million penthouse.

6/29/2009: Bernie Madoff was sentenced to serve 150 years in federal prison. His wife, Ruth, was not in court. Ruth Madoff’s Written Statement of 6/29/2009

6/28/2009: Just prior to Bernie Madoff’s sentencing for his gigantic swindle, a preliminary order of forfeiture forces Ruth and Bernie to give up all their interests in real estate, investments, cars, boats, and insured or salable personal property that are in the homes. Ruth will be able to keep $2.5 million in cash.

3/16/2009: Although Ruth Madoff has still not been charged with any crime, federal prosecutors are asking for the forfeiture of Madoff homes, cars, yachts, and other assets even though most are registered in Ruth’s name.
Source: “Government Files Notice Seeking Madoff Assets.” NYTimes.com. 3/16/2009.

3/12/09: We didn’t notice any pictures of Ruth Madoff standing by Bernie in court. “But, preparing for jail, he wore no wedding ring — only the shadowy imprint remained of one he has worn for nearly 50 years.”
Source: Diana B. Henriques and Jack Healy. “Madoff Goes to Jail After Guilty Pleas to All Charges.” NYTimes.com 3/12/2009.

3/12/09: After pleading guilty to 11 charges Bernie Madoff was handcuffed and taken to jail “to the applause of his seething victims in the courtroom.”
Source: AP / Larry Neumeister and Tom Hays. “Madoff Pleads Guilty to Mass Ponzi Swindle.” Time.com. 3/12/2009.

3/10/09: “He is not reliable. He’s jerking everyone around,” said the source. “Every day he changes his tune about where the money went and where it is. He’s trying to protect his family … Ruth Madoff, who was considered “innocent at first,” according to this source, is believed to have received at least $70 million from her husband and is now therefore an object of the investigation. That is one reason why she recently decided to retain her own lawyer, leaving Ira Sorkin, who has represented both of the Madoffs since December, when the Ponzi scheme was revealed.”
Source: Lucinda Franks. “The Next Targets in the Madoff Case.” TheDailyBeast.com. 3/10/2009.

2/11/09: “… Wednesday’s revelation regarding Mrs. Madoff’s financial withdrawals only raises the likelihood that prosecutors will look closely at family members’ actions.”
Source (includes photo of Ruth and Bernie Madoff): Robert Chew. “Ruth Madoff Withdrew $15.5 Million Prior to Husband’s Arrest.” Time.com. 2/11/2009.

Summing-Up

The longest-running Ponzi scheme in history, led by Bernard I. Madoff, was exposed after at least two decades. The scheme, which bore Charles Ponzi’s name, functioned by using funds from new investors to pay the returns to old clients (an Italian swindler and con artist in the U.S. and Canada). It is a particular kind of pyramid scheme in which the first investors do receive returns, but they are not from investments and instead are the initial money of future investors.

Before 2008, Madoff’s net worth reached a high of roughly $823 million. Bernie I. Madoff had a meager $16 million in wealth at the time of his passing in 2021.

FAQ

What exactly is a Ponzi scheme and how does it relate to business?

A Ponzi scheme is a fraud kind that is a very straightforward investing strategy. A potential client of an investment firm or investment manager is promised a high return on investment with no risk.

The funds from the new investors in the business are utilized to reimburse the company’s original investors. This method is effective as long as the company continues to attract new investors whose funds may be used to pay off earlier investors, and so on. The company will no longer be able to compensate the older investors when the new investors quit.

At this point, the Ponzi scam must be stopped. At this stage, the investment manager frequently vanishes with the money.

What is the background of the Ponzi scheme?

Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrant who came to America in search of wealth and riches, is the name given to the Ponzi scheme. He founded The Security Exchange Company in 1919. He boasted that in just 90 days, he had generated a 50% return for his clients. Everyone wanted to invest with him, of course.

Investors were actually lining up outside his office. He gave investors their purported 50% return on the capital they had borrowed from earlier investors. Much to the contemporary pyramid marketing schemes, the Ponzi scheme was set up. Before he was discovered, many people lost money in this elaborately staged con.

What Is the Best Defense Against a Ponzi Scheme Similar to Madoff?

The top financial advisors were available for hiring by Madoff’s investors. Instead, they invested all of their funds with a fraudster. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on financial counseling to benefit from the errors of these millionaires. Rule #1 — Less than 15% to 20% of your total wealth should always be allocated to one investment. In this manner, you won’t lose all of your money if you are scammed. A well-diversified portfolio offers the majority of investors the best protection because of this.

robert palmer net worth

Robert Palmer Net Worth

private: jon b net worth

Jon B Net Worth