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Home › Money

Joan Juliet Buck | 04/03/2009 11:00 am

Joan Juliet Buck: Who Does Bernard Madoff Remind You Of?

By Joan Juliet Buck RSS
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© AP

I have been wondering who Bernard Madoff reminds me of. Because, for all his evil deeds, there was something weirdly attractive and reassuring about his demeanor.

I wondered what it was. The flyaway gray hair, the tight line of the mouth — who did he look like? What was this strange, almost historic elegance? Why did his face — dear God! — reassure me? Why did the face of this criminal stranger look so intensely familiar, as if I had seen it every single day?

Oh my God …

2009_0403_ap_madoff_wiki_dollar.jpg
Madoff/Dollar Bill © AP/Wikipedia

Read more about: Bernard Madoff, George Washington, Money, Resemblance

107 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

nanchan u
brilliant… !!!!!!!
By nanchan u on 04/03/2009 2:07 pm
Libra Lady
Nanchan….well that really didn’t last long did it???
By Libra Lady on 04/05/2009 9:28 pm
nanchan u
I guess it’s flattering that the whole deal was taken off:  poor Madoff!  He got all the hair taken off, both the left and the right side!
By nanchan u on 04/05/2009 9:37 pm
Libra Lady
Poor Madoff is right…this has happened before…ohio does it everytime he comes on a site.
By Libra Lady on 04/05/2009 9:48 pm
nanchan u
not the best of sports…maybe he got to the SM before we did with a real Apple :)
By nanchan u on 04/05/2009 10:02 pm
Libra Lady

I’m afraid you are right…. :-(

By Libra Lady on 04/05/2009 10:11 pm
phyllis Doyle Pepe
First we had John Kennedy Jr.’s photo of George on his first magazine of "George"; then recently we had a New Yorker cover of George with Obama’s face, and now we have Bernie being George. Wow! Madoff is a demonic dunce with the hide of an ox and the sensitivity of an embalmer. Why such a ruthless meathead  was catnip to so many investors is now revealed: When one looks like a past president who was father to our country––well, shucks, who wouldn’t be fooled?
By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 04/03/2009 12:57 pm
Sam Mirando
No wonder everyone kept saying to George, "Funny, but you don’t look Jewish."
By Sam Mirando on 04/03/2009 1:34 pm
Juanita Ward
I, just wonder if I would have known him, could he have gotten my money? Don’t think so! Just think all  was said to be, SMART People!! 
By Juanita Ward on 04/05/2009 12:20 pm
Sam Mirando

We were given the opportunity to invest with Madoff in the mid 1990’s.   The person (a public figure so I won’t mention his name) who suggested our names to Madoff has lost far, far more than we lost, as have many members of his family and other people (and their families) who are much closer friends of this person than we are.  We invested, fortunately, only a portion of our savings and, every month, we received a very detailed six-page statement that listed, with numbers and prices (bought and sold), all the shares that we "owned" in Fortune 500 companies.  During the course of each month, we received other paperwork, which indicated the sale of various stocks.  Our nest egg increased by 8 to 10% per year, which, at the time, was not very different from the increase in the value of our other investments.  We paid capital gains taxes on our "earnings," we never took a penny out, and we had no reason to believe anything other than the fact that we had invested in a small mutual fund that served private investors who, for the most part, were very much richer than we are. We had hoped to leave a substantial sum to our children - that’s all.  Would you have known it was a scam?  Only if you were Harry Markopolos!

By Sam Mirando on 04/05/2009 2:03 pm
Juanita Ward

Sam, in no way am I putting you down, But for someone to be recommend so highly, you have too think, what is really going on. Is it too presumtuous too say he was reading the same statements, from the same Fortune 500 companies as you. Only getting his statement a little earlier than you? Or did he also invest in a Fortune 500 company.

I feel for all who has lost money! I’m sitting here broke myself wondering, just how many persons trusted this man? I have always been told " Do not trust a person that SMILE so much!" and I’m 60, and still believe, you can not trust those who smile all the time, they are hiding something.

By Juanita Ward on 04/05/2009 2:45 pm
Sam Mirando
There are any number of mutual funds, some large and some small, and we have had, over the decades, several stockbrokers at various companies.  In the mid 1990’s, my husband and I had some money that needed to be put in a safe place, where it would bring a steady but not particularly ambitious return.  He asked his (abovementioned) friend, "Where might be a good place to put our money" and the friend said, "I have money in a small mutual fund where one normally needs a large stake but I’ll ask if you can invest a small stake, as my friend, in the same fund."  Given that this person and his family lost close to half a billion dollars, how can I even begin to agree with your supposition that our friend was in on the scam.  Moreover, his family and the Madoffs socialized regularly and their children went to school together.  They were taken in, totally, by Madoff (and his wife!) over the course of decades and now, in addition to having lost so much of their own money, they have had to witness the losses of many close friends and associates.
By Sam Mirando on 04/05/2009 3:45 pm
Frannie Em

phyllis

I gotta hand it to you, nobody can say it like you can:

"demonic dunce with the hide of an ox and the sensitivity of an embalmer."

"ruthless meathead"

Eloquent down to earth zingers.  LOL 

By Frannie Em on 04/04/2009 12:49 am
georgia fatwood
Hi Phyllis…this is a little bit of fluff on what is obviously a topic so dreadfully serious for many…..My mother, nicknamed Madge, had one of those tight 50’s coifs, not unlike QE…One boring snow day with the granddaughters, we were looking at currency and naming the presidents….When we got to George, one piped up and said "wow, hair like Madge…." Can’t help thinking about that…. 
By georgia fatwood on 04/06/2009 2:31 pm
Frannie Em

Sam

Geesh - that must leave you feeling so powerless.  Sorry. 

By Frannie Em on 04/04/2009 12:50 am
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