The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust, by Diana Henriques, Times Books, RRP$30
Three days. That’s how close Bernard Madoff’s $65bn Ponzi scheme came to collapsing back in November 2005. The high-profile Bayou hedge fund had collapsed and newly anxious investors were pulling money out of investment businesses such as Madoff’s in droves. He owed $105m in redemption cheques but the fraudulent investment business’s JPMorgan bank account had just $13m.
As Diana Henriques documents in her new book, Madoff was only able to cover the difference by pulling money from his legitimate brokerage business and by appropriating client assets to get a $95m loan. Then a timely investment from a client allowed Madoff to stay afloat and suck in billions more dollars from hedge funds round the world, creating what may well be the biggest investment scam of all time.