At the end of every era there is always someone or something that symbolizes the greed, corruption and stupidity of that period. Bernard L Madoff, Jewish born ex Wall Street chairman and founder, is one of those stories, that symbolized the end of the era of 'easy credit'. A period that brought nations crashing to their knees, across the world, in the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930's.
Seventy year-old Madoff and his wife were the brains behind the largest ponzi scheme ever to hit the world. Madoff's customers continued to earn out of the ordinary interest, even when the financial world was falling down around everyone's ears. Madoff fed off people's greed and stupidity by using 11 simple rules.
• Madoff's Project Radiated Exclusivity
Madoff gathered his clients from exclusive clubs, while rejecting many other would-be clients, thereby creating an instantaneous feeling of exclusivity. He made people feel they were 'fortunate' to finally be involved in the scheme.
• Madoff Was Well Connected
Madoff and his wife were once portrayed as the 'Must-Be-Seen-With' people on the society circuit. The world's wealthiest and most famous people were frequently invited to spend time with the Madoffs on their 55 foot boat, or at one of their three opulent mansions.
• Madoff Was Well Liked And Highly Respected
Madoff and his wife Ruth, nurtured a feeling of well-being in all those around them. They gave the appearance of being such likable people, only out to help others, as they were highly regarded by the rich and famous.
• Madoff Networked
He got his 'friends' to recruit others on his behalf. He then used his 'A' list of clients to lure others. This permitted Madoff to achieve access to the wealthy all over the world. Madoff was a well-known member of the Jewish community.
• Madoff Provided A Business Plan
Madoff produced a ponzi scheme, as his business plan, where money from new investors paid out older investors. All this was achieved without even making any investments.
• Madoff Had The Salesman's Dream Talent - The Gift Of The Gab
Madoff was never hesitant in coming forward with a swift and specific word of advice for his investors.
• Madoff Created Credibility
Madoff advised his new investors to start out small and build up their investment. This added credibility to the scheme.
• Madoff Seemed to Do All The Correct Things
While Madoff was an original designer of the concept of Internet access to accounts, he never allowed his clients to have access to this technology. Instead he sent out a monthly newsletter, featuring reports to investors revealing their 'trading' activity and 'investments'. Though invested on several different occasions, Madoff came up squeaky clean.
• Madoff Avoided The Use Of Credible Accounting Firms
Madoff adamantly refused to use credible accounting and auditing firms. Instead he used a totally unknown firm that had no accountability, allowing Madoff to freely 'change the books'. Madoff never let any outside organization do any performance audits.
• Madoff Established A Relationship With The Regulators
While many people raised concerns about the steady rate of interest his investors were receiving, when the economy was in a long hard downturn, their voices went unheard. Well known critics openly declared it was mathematically impossible for Maddof's investment strategies to give the return he claimed. Madoff readily admitted he was 'close to the regulators' and was known to have lied to the SEC. In fact, Madoff was an advisor to the regulators, as the former chairman and founder of the NASDAQ, as well as an adviser to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Madoff Was A High Profile Donor
Madoff was never backward in coming forward as a political donor and philanthropist (do gooder). Madoff and his wife formed a charitable foundation, donating frequently to hospitals and theatres, as well as to research programs. Now having discovered how Madoff used greed, corruption and yes, stupidity, take a look at the other side of the coin, according to a person who was near to Madoff for approximately twenty years.
•Madoff was a sexist egomaniac who was seen frequently in massage parlours.
•Madoff was enticing to women and had a long history of flirtation, with a roving eye (even though Ruth, his wife, watched over him like a hawk).
•He insulted his staff when he was under stress
Madoff's victims in the ponzi scheme are well-known, including even the clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado, one of the world's leading experts on financial scams and the author of Annals of Gulibility: Why We Get Duped And How To Avoid It.
The results from Madoff's scheme will be around for years to come in the land of the rich and famous. Madoff was only caught after confessed to his two sons, that the whole business was 'one big lie'. The biggest lie the world has ever known. It is not known how much money Madoff stashed away overseas, before his arrest.
Dr Wendy Stenberg-Tendys and her husband are CEO's of YouMe Support Foundation (http://youmesupport.org) providing high school education grants for children who are without hope. A chance to fulfill their dreams at whatever level they chose to. Take a few minutes to check it all out at Win A Resort (http://winaresort.com)
Feel free to contact Wendy on admin@youmesupport.org
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wendy_Stenberg-Tendys
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