Bernie Madoff: An American Greed Story

The story of Bernie Madoff is a lesson for those who let greed take over their judgment. Some people fail to understand that making wealth by the wrong means does not always end well, and the ultimate price that they may have to pay can be far greater than what they think they achieved all their lives. Such is the story of Bernie Madoff, an American who has been convicted with fraud. Madoff orchestrated the largest fraud in the history of the US by way of a Ponzi scheme concealed behind the curtains of his asset management business.

Bernie Madoff is a former financier, stockbroker, and investment advisor who founded the firm named Madoff Investment Securities LLC in 1960. Madoff remained the chairman of the firm until he was arrested in 2008. Madoff’s firm was said to be the most market making firm as it did not involve the specialist firms in the process of stockbroking and it contacted the investors over the counter directly. Madoff’s sons informed the authorities in 2008 that the firm’s asset management business is actually a lie under which the firm carries out a massive Ponzi scheme which has been defrauding investors for years. It was later discovered that Madoff had been orchestrating the Ponzi scheme since early 1990s and according to some accounts, it has been said that the scheme had started in early 1980s. The firm used to produce a false paper trail which was sent to the clients to present a false impression of the financial position of the firm which led towards investment by the investors. Later, gains were fabricated and false financial performance reports were released. At the time of investigation, it was identified that nearly $65 billion were missing from customer accounts. Madoff was held guilty for 11 federal felonies and he sent to prison for 150 years which is the maximum number of years in prison allowed. These turn of events affected the Madoff family very significantly as one of Madoff’s sons committed suicide two years after his arrest.

The story of Bernie Madoff is the perfect representative of American greed and its consequences. The consequences faced by Madoff are exemplary and they set a precedence for anyone who intends to make wealth by fraudulent means. Madoff’s story very clearly shows that wrong ways of making wealth never end well and the end may not be worth it all.

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