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The Rise and Fall of Bernie Madoff
Portfolio Hardcover
August 2009
On Sale: August 11, 2009
320 pages ISBN: 1591842875 EAN: 9781591842873 Hardcover
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Despite all the headlines about Bernard Madoff, who pleaded
guilty to running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme, he is still
shrouded in mystery. Why (and when) did he turn his
legitimate business into a massive fraud? How did he fool
so many smart investors for so long? Who among his family
and employees knew the truth? The best person to answer these questions-and tell the full
story of Madoff's rise and fall-is Erin Arvedlund. In early
2001, she was suspicious of the amazing returns of Madoff's
hedge fund, which no one could explain. Her article in
Barron's, based on more than one hundred interviews, could
have prevented a lot of misery, had the SEC followed up. But almost no one was willing to believe anything bad
about "Uncle Bernie"-so nice, so humble, so generous to
charities. As Arvedlund shows, Madoff was no ordinary liar,
but a master of the type of lies people really wanted to
believe. He kept his clients at a distance and allowed
handsomely paid friends to solicit new ones for him;
playing hard to get created an irresistible mystique. Now, Arvedlund tackles the tough questions that are still
unanswered in the wake of Madoff's collapse: · Did he start off as a legitimate money manager or was he
a fraud from the beginning? Were there indications of
larceny at the very start of his career? · Why did Madoff's biggest supporters within the industry,
such as Walter Noel of Fairfield Greenwich and Ezra Merkin
of Gabriel Capital, ignore the warning signs that were so
apparent? Did they choose to remain ignorant as long as
their commissions rolled in? · Why did SEC investigations fail to catch Madoff's Ponzi
scheme eventhough several people had voiced concerns about
his operation? · Who else helped Madoff carry out his scam? His family and
close associates have denied any involvement, but was it
possible for one man to engineer a heist of such scope?
With her keen investigative eye, Arvedlund presents a
sweeping narrative of Madoff's career-from his youth in
Queens, New York, to his early days working for his father-
in-law, to his time as chairman of the NASDAQ exchange, and
finally to infamy as the world's most notorious swindler.
She offers a riveting glimpse of Madoff the man-an
indifferent student with little ambition who transformed
himself into a star with a talent for trading, a reputation
for innovation, and an unmistakably erratic nature. Readers will be fascinated by Arvedlund's portrayal of
Madoff, his empire, and all those who never considered that
he might be too good to be true.
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