Skip to Main Content Skip to Search. News Corp is a global, diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content and other products and services. Dow Jones. Weidner wsj. She mocks him for being afraid for his life. Well, it was a lot of money. People, including those in our government, have killed for far less.
It was also interesting to read about the attempts to get the money back. The fellow in charge of the process, Picard, was not loved by anyone but he has apparently done a terrific job. One thing that must be done is to convince the defrauded that they could not put any faith in the statements provided by Madoff, which of course were completely fictitious. The most they could hope for was to get their money back.
In most cases you get ten cents on the dollar but Picard was able to clawback considerably. This is an incredible achievement. This book ends up being a worthwhile read, giving some interesting perspectives. It does feel rather too much like an apology for the establishment at times. Dec 22, Doriana Bisegna rated it liked it. So why read this book on the Madoff Ponzi scheme? Well, besides being curious about how someone could swindle over a billion dollars from so many investors from all areas of the world, I wanted to learn more about the stock market, the crash of and the world of Wall Street.
This book does not disappoint. There was way too much Wall Street lingo in this book for me to understand all the intricacies involved in trading but I still found it immensely satisfying and interesting.
Henriques does a marvellous job of constructing the evolution of Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme I envy all those readers that do understand all the ins and outs of the trading world and feel they would find this book fascinating and a true financial thriller!
It sure read like one! Shelves: business-finance. It's distracting for me when the author repeatedly reports on the appearance and hair of women characters, particularly blond women. Why do I think it means stacked? This is a must read for anyone in the finance world including business students. I always wondered exactly how Bernie Madoff pulled off his Ponzi given the various safeguards in place in the investment world. Not only did this book "tell the story", but it also brought in the human elements of what happened I "read" this as an audio book and the narration was well done as well.
Both of those, especially the latter made for tough reading in places due to the complexity of the crimes and the financial jargon. Mostly i could use www. After these i'd decided to leave the financial crime books because a i became frustrated with myself for not being able to fully grasp what was going on, b i'd much prefer to read about murder and c i realised finance crime wasn't really that interesting.
But there was something different about Madoff in that his crime was a simple one. As is repeated throughout the book he robbed Peter to pay Paul.
Although this is a very simple analysis of his crime it is the bare truth and because of the ineptitude of the various American government agencies he was allowed to get away with it for far too long. I first heard about him in the Harry Markopolos documentary 'Chasing Madoff', which is well worth a watch. He's also written a book but due to the poor reviews i avoided it. This reignited my interest in the Madoff case, which led me to buying this superb book.
Unlike the film the book is the complete story of the Ponzi scheme going back to it's roots up until the collapse in There's a great deal of financial jargon but the author writes in laymen terms so the uninitiated can understand and keep track of what went down.
It's a sad story and Diana B. Henriques perfectly conveys this in every single page especially the aftermath when so many peoples worlds came tumbling down. But I couldn't help thinking 'why the hell did some of these people give all of their money to him! To me it defies logic to trust one man with everything. This was a 3 star book up until the final few chapters where she describes the fallout of the Ponzi scheme.
She puts aside the finance and talks about the damaging effect Bernie Madoff had on all his victims including his family who were oblivious up until his confession. The epilogue is also one of the best I've ever read. Even if you've been following the Madoff story in the news and and think you know what happened, this is a book worth reading. Henriques presents the story in an interesting and accessible fashion.
I knew from newspaper articles that regulatory agencies had missed discovering this Ponzi scheme, but I did not realize that the investigators were such incompetent bunglers.
Madoff was investigated several times without the regulators taking effective steps to verify that he actually had the mone Even if you've been following the Madoff story in the news and and think you know what happened, this is a book worth reading.
Madoff was investigated several times without the regulators taking effective steps to verify that he actually had the money he was supposedly investing for his customers. Inexperience and high turn over really tip the scales toward the crook. With the drive for "less government" and "fewer regulations" there is every reason to believe more Ponzi schemes will be allowed to grow for years.
Do you understand your investments? Do you know where your money really is? Are your savings just a sheet of paper with numbers on it? This book gets a gal to wondering. View 1 comment. Mar 16, Sarah rated it liked it Shelves: nonfiction , audiobook , true-crime. I learned a lot realized I really knew very little about the Madoff scandal and Ponzi scheme and enjoyed the many different discussions with friends and family that sprung from this book. I enjoyed the financial history and analysis of what Madoff could or could not have been doing with investments from the s to today.
At times I wanted a bit more depth and a stronger narrative thread, especially related to non-Madoff personalities floating around the story early investors, the 3. At times I wanted a bit more depth and a stronger narrative thread, especially related to non-Madoff personalities floating around the story early investors, the Madoff trustees, the Madoff sons , but I realize the author could only work with the material she had at her disposal! Mar 26, Florence Millo rated it it was amazing Shelves: fiction.
For years I have been fascinated by the Madoff ponzi scheme. Kind of like not being able to look away from the train wreck. I have read several books and many newspaper articles about it but this is by far the best. Diana Henriques is a senior financial writer for the New York Times and has covered the story from the very beginning. What I appreciate most in this book is that it puts this the biggest and longest running Ponzi scheme in history in context of the times and gives insight as to h For years I have been fascinated by the Madoff ponzi scheme.
What I appreciate most in this book is that it puts this the biggest and longest running Ponzi scheme in history in context of the times and gives insight as to how so many, many people came to be taken in by Bernie Madoff. While this book helps me understand the people who believed in him--his family, the people who worked with and for him, the people who trusted him with the savings of a lifetime--and were finally betrayed by him, I am still completely unable to understand how someone could betray everyone, literally everyone in his life.
Jul 17, Betsy rated it really liked it. I am giving this book 4 stars simply because of the amount of work and research that must have gone into writing it. She is a true research journalist and a good writer, however my eyes would cross or glaze over due to all the overwhelming financial detail. If you are a numbers person, into Wall Street, hedge-fund and trading this book is for you!
Unfortunately I was looking more I am giving this book 4 stars simply because of the amount of work and research that must have gone into writing it. Unfortunately I was looking more for the "why he did it" and "how" he could possibly live with himself and the lies for so long. It must have been tearing him up inside, this info is only really covered in the epilogue. It will probably never be known unless Madoff writes a book, and even then who would believe he was telling the truth?
May 06, Judy rated it really liked it. Pretty horrifying to think how one man and his Ponzi scheme could fool so many people for so long. Investors big and small, regulators, auditors, friends, family, and coworkers. The amount of money involved was mind boggling.
I have to give the author credit, if I can trust anyone after reading about Bernie's lies, for getting enough facts together to publish an account of such a long and complicated swindle. Quite an eyeopener on how trusting investors are and how no one takes the time to read Pretty horrifying to think how one man and his Ponzi scheme could fool so many people for so long.
Quite an eyeopener on how trusting investors are and how no one takes the time to read the fine print. I liked the very last sentence of the book: "In a world full of lies, the most dangerous ones are those we tell ourselves.
Jan 29, Sara rated it really liked it Shelves: non-fiction , movies-i-have-seen , biography , finance-economics. I enjoyed this book - I learned a lot about Bernie Madoff. A lot of court cases were still pending when the author wrote this book, so I might have to google a few names. I picked it up at the library to read as a company I used to work for is mentioned in the book.
We handled quite a few Madoff accounts. Won the lawsuit, though, not guilty! May 21, Brian D. Avsec rated it liked it. The first half of the book details the entire Ponzi scheme by Bernie and has some really good detail. The second half is filled with court filings and author opinions that does not help much and feels more like a filler to make the book longer. I still enjoyed the book but just note the first half is much more enjoyable then the second half. Aug 03, Nat rated it it was amazing.
A true financial thriller, it gave me goosebumps upon learning how much Madoff's victims had lost, the trust broken, the heartbreaks, the hopelessness and the suicides. This scandal and tragedy all started with one thing- greed.
And it continues to plague the financial markets to this day. May 10, Caren rated it liked it. If only we knew for sure how much was true. Aug 08, Alicen rated it it was amazing Shelves: audiobook , recommended , read-in This book is extremely well researched and written, and was absolutely terrifying to read.
Jun 24, Book rated it it was amazing Shelves: politics-economics. Acclaimed author Diana B. Henriques masterfully narrates one of the most absorbing accounts of fraud in the history of our country. This engrossing page book is composed of the following sixteen chapters: 1.
An Earthquake on Wall Street, 2. Becoming Bernie, 3. The Hunger for Yield, 4. The Big Four, 5. Like Noel, she was never criminally charged. In January , Kohn denied wrongdoing and claimed to have been deceived.
Noel also said Madoff fooled him. Cumulatively, he and his funds have paid hundreds of millions in settlements and fines. Blood can be thicker than water. In a final chapter titled Never Again, Campbell offers his prescription for avoiding another Madoff-like disaster.
He recommends better due diligence and greater caution — which are both highly unlikely in the absence of legal sanctions or a transformation of human nature. More practically, he calls for structural changes at the Securities and Exchange Commission, greater investor protection by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, and criminalization of the wilful failure of feeder funds to conduct due diligence. When carrots fail, sticks may work.
One thing is certain, Madoff set a new bar and others will follow. The story opens with a decent outline of what was happening and how he turned himself into a crook and then how he decides to turn himself in. And the last chapters talks about him, his family and friends, and how they all cope d with the ordeal. It was really quite interesting.
It just kept going on and on. Maybe that was just me. I would recommend the title only if you have the patience to get thru the hours of minutia that make up the bulk of the background story. Oh sure, there will always be another con man and there will always be people who would rather place their money with them than in a name like Fidelity or Vanguard.
Diana Henriques exhaustive research paid off in learning almost step by step how Madoff pulled off one of the biggest financial Ponzi schemes in the history of the U. It is unbelievable how much money Madoff and his "feeders" made and how many people and institutions were affected and wiped out. This is a long term read and at times confusing, but overall a terrific learning experience of what not to do with financial advisers and secret tips.
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Narrated by: Pam Ward. No default payment method selected. Add payment method. Switch payment method. We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method. Pay using card ending in. Taxes where applicable. Listeners also enjoyed Exploring Metaphysics By: David K. Johnson Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins Original Recording Overall. Publisher's Summary Who is Bernie Madoff, and how did he pull off the biggest Ponzi scheme in history?
Henriques P Tantor. Critic Reviews "Henriques offers an impressive, meticulously reported postmortem not only of the Ponzi scheme but also of Madoff's entire career The Wizard of Lies is the definitive book on what Madoff did and how he did it.
Cogent and well researched, The Wizard of Lies is an engaging narrative…. But his investors were too trusting or too greedy to ask the right questions, and US regulators were too cowed and too disorganised. Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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