At The Breakers, in Palm Beach, the ten-thousand-dollar-a-week cabanas were all booked, but a guest there said the atmosphere was grim. "It's like everybody's in mourning," he said, referring both to Bernie Madoff's victims and to the people whose stock portfolios had merely taken a dive. "It's like a member of the family has died, and its name is Money." A new poolside pastime had emerged, in place of canasta: calling a friend over and showing him a stack of account statements from Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities--the now worthless things touting those steady ten- to fifteen-per-cent returns--and asking, "What did I miss?"
Family Jewels [New Yorker]
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 9:20AM
What did I miss? How about the fact that he was returning 10-15% each and every year, regardless of what the market was doing.
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 9:26AM
Wasp schadenfreude.
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 9:26AM
"What did I miss?"
Due diligence.
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 9:30AM
oh yeah
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 9:33AM
is there anything left to say at this point.......you're owned, like ansty face plant
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 9:35AM
I am sorry but what kind of moron puts money with someone that doesnt offer online access and send out statements with crappy printing quality?
The first rule of investing: "If public schools send out report cards on better quality paper and better printing than your investment manager its time to hit the bricks"
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 9:40AM
we will never again chase past performance nor will we invest with "geniuses" who promise positive steady returns in any environment.
in other words, we will never again invest in hedge funds.
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 9:45AM
remember people, your hindsight is worthless.
swiss and japanese banks invested with Madoff, quant analysts who tried to reverse engineer the strategy found that it worked but couldnt explain how, 8 SEC investigations revealed no wrongdoing, the guy was one of THE most respected on the street who revolutionized ECNs and was a former chair of NASDAQ, accounts were churned yet fees were low, those who invested profited going back over 35 years, those who pulled got their money out overnight-no questions asked.
can your hedge fund pass that test?
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 9:47AM
" A new poolside pastime had emerged, in place of canasta: calling a friend over and showing him a stack of account statements from AQR Capital --the now worthless things touting those steady returns--and asking, "What did I miss?"
Gov of California is thanking his biceps that he dodged this bullet. He was kicked out - too touchy feely for the partners.
Posted by Clown Capital , Jan 07, 2009 9:47AM
Damn, can you imagine the money to be made off the book deal??? the movie???
So far, I vote Harrison Ford to be cast as everyone's most likable Jew, Owen Wilson to play Andy, Will Smith to play Governor Patterson (I know, random..) Meryl Streep to play Ruth, and Jon Voight to play Walter Noel...
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 9:49AM
@8- wrong
No one reverse engineered the strategy and "found that it worked." How could you be so stupid.
I heard about this guy in '96. It was not in the context of "it's a Ponzi," but rather "he must be taking risk he's not telling you about and using cookie jar reserves to smooth it." Any reasonable person would have thought the same thing.
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 9:51AM
Madoff should have been selling Equity Linked Indexed Annuities. The commish on those are OUTSTANDING!
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 9:56AM
@10/CC - And I recommend Tom Cruise for the cameo role of Ezra Merkin. He could wear the same fat suit and prosthetics he did as Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder. I mean, if were talking about an all-goyim cast ...
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 9:57AM
you're all wrong. it's easy to do this. you simply buy the market then perform a split strike strategy to allow upside exposure whilst limiting risk. then you print out statements which bear no relation to the actual results. Badabing.
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 9:58AM
Bess, did you catch last night's "Kudlow & Crammer", er "Kudlow & Co", errr "CNBC Reports" (I don't know what the d@mn name is, they keep on changing it)?
The show on CNBC at 7-8pm EST!
Anyway, Kudlow has Chazz on and Chazz "speculates" that Madoff is involved with the Russian mob.
Now everyone knows the mafia doesn't exist and is an invention by the media & hollywood...BUT???
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 10:00AM
apparently his real name is Behnke Musolff and he used to be in the Hitler Youth.
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 10:08AM
here is one quant analysts take on the Madoff strategy.
could have fooled a quant analyst. were widows, orphans and pensions supposed to do a better job at due diligence?
http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2008/12/19/bernie_vs_benfo.html
do YOU know how YOUR hedge fund makes money? do YOU understand SPACs, derivatives and other hedgie schemes?
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 10:26AM
let us all agree on one thing, hedge funds are history.
if recent events have not made a Bogle Head out of you then you are a total shit for brains!
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 10:27AM
why is this guy still allowed to saty in his multi-million dollar apartment?
Another broken business model now admitted.
http://endofesq.com/?p=804
Posted by Cantillon , Jan 07, 2009 10:28AM
"It's like a member of the family has died, and its name is Money."
It's a good thing this article didn't reinforce any stereotypes about a particular ethnic group.
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 10:33AM
@ 10, nice. Who could play our new favorite girl in dredds and bonefisherwoman, Catherine Hooper?
Uma Thurman, Kate Winslett, Madonna, Queen Latifah?
-BBF
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 10:38AM
@21
Whoopie Goldberg. She has the dreads so no additional work there.
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 10:46AM
@20 Beat me to it.
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 10:49AM
HEY!!! What about Gary Busey??
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 11:03AM
Gotta have Tom Skerrit (River Runs Through It) in there somewhere, given all the fishing, right?
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 11:34AM
@2
Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
J.C., Matthew 5-22
Love, a WASP
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 11:34AM
this movie is ON
Spielberg directs
Eric Roth writes screenplay
Katzenberg produces
Luke and Owen Wilson play Mark and Andy, the 2 bonefishing imbeciles
Kevin Bacon and Kyra can play Shana and her SEC husband, the token shaygitz aka the shabbos goy
and Bernie.............Michael Caine. I know , i know the cockney accent but trust me, he can do a queens accent with a little studying
Ruthie; idunno, Joan Rivers?
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 11:36AM
@15: interesting indeed that Charles is speculating on Made-Off's Russian Mob connections - especially when the news came out today about Bank Medici's Queen Bee disappearing last week. Apparantly the Russians (the bulk of clients) aren't feeling her after a 2.1 Billion loss...........all tied to Made-Off, huh! What'cha got on this one today, Gasbag?????
Posted by guest , Jan 07, 2009 11:47AM
A ponzi or two amongst friends is one thing, but I for one cannot believe the lack of loyalty this board is showing to Mr. Busey.
Shocking.