This just in
Former head of Nasdaq is Going down ! Accused of 50 billon dollar Fraud Case recently discovered ! More to come as details are available !
Comment(s) »
» Leave a comment
- Your E-mail address is never displayed. If you enter it, it will only be visible to the blog author
- Since there already are comments to this post, your eventual comment might trigger a notification e-mail to the persons that commented before you.
- The line and paragraph breaks automatically
Charity Caught Up In Wall Street Ponzi Scandal
There was at least one warning sign everyone missed in the Bernard Madoff story. Madoff, a former Nasdaq chairman who reportedly created the largest swindle in Wall Street history, liked to spread around the money he allegedly stole to make himself look good.
Madoff was arrested on one charge of securities fraud Thursday and released on $10 million bail. He faces up to 20 years in jail in what authorities say was "a giant Ponzi scheme." Such a scheme can involve taking investments from clients, spending the money on yourself and repay the clients out of other clients' accounts. Readers of this column may recall such a case with Hollywood money manager Dana Giacchetto back in 2001.
Madoff kept his story secret for years, and got away with it. "Everyone wanted him to manage their money. They would say, If only I get with Bernie Madoff," a very rich media person told me Thursday night.
RelatedColumn Archive
Charity Caught Up in Wall Street Ponzi Scandal'Mad Men' on Thin Ice?Tom Cruise and 'Milk' Shockers Rock Golden Globe NominationsCruise Loses in First 'Valkyrie' ReviewsWhitney: Bobby Tells All In Book Full-page Fox411 Archive
There were some indications that Madoff might have been in trouble. The signs were there. Last year, his own Madoff Family Foundation gave only $95,000 to other charity groups.
This was a significant drop from 2006, and from every year since 2000. In 2006, Madoff (which is pronounced "made-off," as in, made off with all our money) gave away a total $1,277,600. It's surprising no one noticed the difference in 2007 since it affected a number of hospitals and other health organizations.
The Madoff family established its charity in 1998 and since then have given multimillion-dollar donations to New York's big-league charities.
These donations afforded the Madoff family — Bernard, his wife, Ruth, their two sons and the sons' wives — the chance to play with the rich and powerful in various New York society circles.
The charity started out slowly with the Madoffs putting in around $4 million for each of the first two years. But in 2000, they parked an astounding $25 million in their tax-free Madoff Family Foundation. It was then that they turned into big-time givers.
Madoff's knack for largesse also spread to members of his family. One son, Andrew, has a tax-free foundation that lists $5 million in assets. Another son, Mark, has one with $2 million in assets.
Comment by jim— 2008/12/13 @ 06:29 PM — (Reply)
Comment by jim— 2008/12/14 @ 07:35 AM — (Reply)