Bernie Madoff, The Wizard Of Lies: Inside The Infamous $65 Billion Swindle (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
Well written - I could understand her descriptions of arcane investment lingo ("split/strike conversion strategy, etc)and the complex web of feeder funds, foreign banks etc, that fed into the Ponzi scheme. But it's clearly a work of journalism - just the facts. Yes - the SEC bungled the investigations - but wasn't the SEC gutted by the same Reagan/Bush anti-regulatory fervor that made it possible for Wall St to essentially run amok? I would have been interested in the author's opinions - as a long time financial writer, and someone with unprecedented access to the jailed Madoff. What motivated him? After he had already earned millions in his legit business - why go to the dark side? Mostly ego it seems, not wanting to admit that he was not the intuitive market genius he presented to the world. At the end of the day, it really doesn't seem like Bernie had much fun. How could he - when all along he knew the day of reckoning would come? And he apparently never gave off any clues to his desperate situation - until the moment he stunned the world with his confession. How did he keep that bottled up for so long? Nerves of steel, I guess.Such a cautionary tale for our times - how could a swindle of this magnitude have gone unnoticed for so long? Not just by the regulators, but by the sophisticated investors in his scheme? Astonishing. Awesome recounting of the 20+ year theft of Bernie Madoff. Reading this book I really feel sorry for his victims and his wife and sons. I loved the final chapter that explored why con men succeed and why some many of us are striving for easy answers to difficult problems.Bernie Madoff was a thief, pure and simple, and his crime created many complex legal issues, and Henriques explains them all in a fascinating manner. She removes financial speak from her story and brings together a fabulous story.
What do You think about Bernie Madoff, The Wizard Of Lies: Inside The Infamous $65 Billion Swindle (2000)?
Was slow reading at parts and sometimes got technical but overall it was a good read
—adrian
He was definitely a charming scheming silver-tongued rascal
—akcutie82
A fascinating look at Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
—FourteenEndings
