Who is Bernie Madoff?

Well being that I’m a finance major, and I love the financial aspect of this job, I feel like it is my duty to shed some light on one of the biggest financial scams of all time. I have a feeling most of you don’t have any idea who Bernie Madoff is, so I’m here to help. As you consider applying for a job on the flipside crew, think about how it could catapult your financial career! When you are a super star investor/CEO/whatever else you want to be, you’ll remember not to end up like Bernie Madoff. Then you can thank me for warning you, and send me a check.

Bernie Madoff is a former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange, which is basically where some of the largest stocks (mostly technological) trade. Obviously this dude had some serious financial credibility. Even more swag then the flipside crew, you might say. Anyway, he convinced tons of wealthy people that he could invest their money and earn huge returns for them, to make them even more rich. Each person who gave him money didn’t know what he was going to do with it. Good ol’ Bernie would use the new money he received to pay the people who had already given him money, while taking a portion for himself. It was a never ending cycle that didn’t look suspicious until the new money ran out. Then Bernie didn’t have any money to give to the people who had invested with him. In the end, $50 billion dollars was lost by all of the investors. This type of scam is called a ponzy scheme. Obviously, Bernie is going to jail, but those people are never going to get their money back. This was the largest Wall Street scam ever. Still confused? Let Erny and the cookie monster break it down for you in this video. And remember, always be ethical!!!