Bernie Madoff and Human Depravity
At the end of June, financier and swindler Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in federal prison. He had defrauded thousands of people of over $65 billion. Although many of his victims were relatively well-heeled, plenty of poor-to-middling investors lost their life savings. These bare facts reveal a tragedy, but one that is not particularly unique except for its record-breaking scale. A quick google news search shows that another dozen ponzi schemes have popped up in the news in just the past 24 hours.
But Madoff’s sentencing took on a special significance. (more…)