Here’s everything to know about the rise and fall of Bernie Madoff.
Notoriously regarded as the disgraced financier behind the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history, Madoff was a con artist infamous for defrauding investors of an estimated $17.5 billion (or as much as $65 billion, including fictional profits) over the span of 20 years.
Netflix’s latest docuseries, Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street, details the true story behind the New York City-based investor, from his humble beginnings to becoming one of the most influential powerbrokers on Wall Street — featuring insight from whistleblowers, employees, investigators and victims.
The streamer’s docuseries isn’t the only retelling of the true crime story, as it’s been chronicled in previous titles including 2016’s two-part miniseries Madoff on ABC and 2017’s The Wizard of Lies biopic (an HBO film based on the Diana Henriques book of the same).
Between the crimes he committed and what he was charged with, here’s everything to know about Madoff.
Who is Bernie Madoff?
Bernie Madoff was born in Queens, New York on April 29, 1938. After earning a degree at Hofstra University in 1960 and studying at Brooklyn Law School for one year, he founded Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities.
His self-started company began as a penny stock trader and grew to be one of Wall Street’s most bankable firms. At one point, he was a former chairman of the NASDAQ (National…
