Ponzi Loot Puts Madoff Client Among Richest Americans

Picower made $7.2B, lands on Forbes list

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 2, 2009 11:31 AM CDT

(Newser) – Jeffry Picower is a secretive guy, which must have made his turn in the spotlight this week all the more uncomfortable. The former lawyer, who was already being sued for $5.1 billion in alleged profits from Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, cracked Forbes’ list of the 400 wealthiest Americans on the same day a federal investigator sued him for another $2.1 billion, ProPublica reports.

Forbes listed Picower’s net worth at $1 billion, good for No. 371 on the list, but noted he was “likely worth billions more.” The source given for his wealth is "Investments, Self-Made." If you tack the $7.2 billion in alleged Ponzi profits onto his total, he’d be the 32nd-richest person in America. Picower says he’s a Madoff victim, with $500,000 still invested when Madoff got caught. Trustee Irving Picard says Picower knew, or should have known, his profits were fraudulent.

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In this March 10, 2009 file photo, Bernard Madoff exits Manhattan federal court in New York. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano, file)

In this March 12, 2009 file photo, Bernard Madoff arrives at Manhattan federal court in New York. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano, file)

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Picower’s premise that making billions of dollars from a Ponzi scheme is a badge of innocence is
dubious at best. - Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee trying to recover the missing Ponzi money

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 6 comments

Spudsy

Oct 2, 2009 10:59 AM CDT

Anybody getting 12 percent returns should be smart enough to get some of it off the table. It just isn't real. If you read my second post you will see that I am suspect of his information. I think he discovered what was going on and then blackmailed Bernie for the 100 percent returns. The trustee has said he may go after anyone who withdrew money from the account. But if the withdrawal was an innocent, no inside information, withdrawal, I don't see how that is fair. The people who withdrew nothing were more greedy than those who did. And now they get rewarded for it.

Toon

Oct 2, 2009 7:00 AM CDT

Spudsy, Do you really think the guy investing billions with Madoff and getting 100% returns is on par with the guy investing 50K and getting 12% returns? Especially when he then hides 85% of his net worth? The only question I have is what is his actual net worth. If he is hiding billions of dollars than something stinks to high heaven. And even if he's completely innocent I still maintain that a person worth a billion dollars who loses 500K in a scam is far less a victim than the person who lost their entire nest egg.

Spudsy

Oct 2, 2009 6:07 AM CDT

Well, having looked a little deeper into Picowers business dealings, it seems like he had some type of power over Madoff. He was able to get 100 percent returns versus the already incredible 12 percent the other greedy bastards were counting on. Perhaps he had figured it out and was blackmailing Bernie? Nonetheless, you can't expect one investor to assume anything more than the others with all information to them being the same. Sounds like the trustee's argument is off target, he needs to find out what Picower knew that the others did not know or have access to.

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fraud • Forbes 400 • Forbes • Ponzi scheme • Bernard Madoff • Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities • Jeffry Picower

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Ponzi Loot Puts Madoff Client Among Richest Americans