Money | 03/03/2009 9:35 am
Ruth Madoff Asks to Keep $62 Million

Ruth Madoff wants to hold on to $62 million of her money. Too bad she’s not getting too much sympathy, particularly from victims.
A U.S. District judge has frozen some of Ruth and Bernard Madoff’s assets since his alleged Ponzi scheme unfolded. Bloomberg reports, however, that Ruth insists she has her own $17 million in cash stowed away at Wachovia Bank, and $45 million in bonds at COHMAD Securities, co-owned by husband Bernard. Plus she owns the couple’s $7 million penthouse — totaling $69 million in assets, and she hopes to keep them in her holdings.
Though Mrs. Madoff hasn’t yet been accused of any wrongdoing, she and other family members may be targeted by investors looking to get back some of their losses. It was reported last month that Madoff withdrew more than $15 million from COHMAD just before her husband’s arrest. And former customers are fuming.
"I’m angry, outraged. Really, I mean it gets more ludicrous every minute," 91-year-old Hilda Hausner, who lost $800,000 invested with Madoff, told The New York Post. "Well, where did she get the money from? I guess I gave it to her, and thousands of other people."
The Noel family of Greenwich, CT, are also likely irked. Not only did the wealthy family lose their riches to Madoff, but their friends lost out as well after the Noels convinced them to invest with Madoff — and now they’ve become social pariahs. "There are times when I lie awake and think, Oh my God, what does the future hold?" matriarch Monica Noels once let slip to a friend, reports Vanity Fair. "Oh, don’t let anyone know I said that."
Madoff may finally face some of his victims Wednesday, during a court hearing on the civil suit filed against him by more than 2,350 claims investors. That likely won’t be a great day for Madoff. But then again, neither was the day his customers discovered he lost their life savings.























35 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment
Another let them eat cake moment courtesy of the Madoffs who literally Made Off with Millions.
I think instead of sending them to jail we ought to sentence them to the Peace Corps or some other type of charity like working in a soup kitchen after their ill gotten gains have been returned to their rightful owners oh yeah that would be rightful victims.
Sally,
Perhaps sicking him on the poor is bad, I guess I just feel like prison is a little too cushy for these people thats why I said that. Kind of like the Karma of their actions should be to serve others, like a soup kitchen but I really like your suggestion of the outhouses.
Maybe they should create a swindlers survivor series where we can watch them eat bugs and all kinds of other demeaning things along with the CEO’s of Wall Street as their fellow competitors.
Really, I mean it gets more ludicrous every minute," 91-year-old Hilda Hausner.
I agree! I’m sure all those people who lost their life’s savings and investments would like their millions back, their penthouse, their… LIFE back too. I think Madoff and his wife need to go back to work at $10 an hour like that poor 90 yr old man who had to go back to work to SURVIVE after they stole EVERYTHING from him.
They should be tarred and feathered and run out of town…after having all of their assets seized. He’ll get off, just like they all do…I’m sure Madoff and family are still sleeping soundly in their NYC penthouse and are planning their next fabulous vacation to some gloriously, ridiculously expensive resort to deal with all the stress…
"Ruth Madoff wants to hold on to $62 million of her money."
Gulp!!! My mind doesn’t even wrap around $62 million!
I agree, Debra. My brain has become desensitized to the incredible numbers. Does the "illion" start with an M, a B or a T??? It simply doesn’t matter, in my personal reality. It’s all theoretical. My financial life deals in fewer digits. I understand the depth and breadth of the compounded crises, but am frustrated that we are probably still at the mercy of some Wall Street anonymous math whiz in his twenties, producing algorithms that don’t mean diddly.
But I beg to differ with Staff on the closing line of this story. Bernie didn’t "lose" any of his friends’ and investors’ money; he stole it and They spent it.