Netflix has dropped a brand new true-crime documentary mini-series centering on Bernie Madoff, a man who earned himself the somewhat chilling nickname ‘the Monster of Wall Street’ – but how did he land himself with such a title?
Madoff, who was born in New York in 1938, was a successful financier and even made history by launching Nasdaq – the world’s first electronic stock exchange. You can see a trailer for Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street here:
However, despite his achievements, Madoff later turned to fraud and would go on to become better known as the mastermind behind the world’s largest Ponzi scheme, worth around $64billion.
A Ponzi scheme is an unsustainable business model that will grind to a halt once the operator fails to attract new investors or when current investors attempt to get their money back.
Madoff claimed his scheme started in the 1990s – but there has been some speculation that it started much earlier – and he managed to attract thousands of investors who believed they were getting involved with a legitimate operation.
The fraud was eventually uncovered in 2008 and at trial in 2009, Madoff pled guilty to all charges.
He was given 150 years in prison – the maximum possible under federal sentencing guidelines – and was ordered to pay out billions in restitution.
Madoff issued an apology after appearing in court, telling his victims: “I have left a legacy of shame, as some of my victims have pointed out, to my family and my grandchildren. This is…
