Madoff (ABC)

[Tara Ariano]

The story of infamous financier Bernie Madoff, whose fraudulent activities led to a major fallout with his family and his eventual imprisonment after he committed a massive financial scam that resulted in the loss of billions of dollars for his clients around the world.

 

On ABC: Part 1 premieres Wednesday, February 3, at 8 PM ET; Part 2 premieres Thursday, February 4 at 8 PM ET.

[Primetimer]

Sarah D. Bunting and John Ramos on Madoff, finance procedurals, and what a Ruth Gardens spinoff might look like.

Read the story

[Latverian Diplomat]

How much of Madoff's reputation as a psychopathic monster as opposed to a (still psychopathic but not extraordinary) con man is because so many of the people he ripped off were wealthy, powerful, and or famous?

[Dirtybubble]

I really enjoyed the first half of this series. I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up because I am unfamiliar with stock market exchanges but the show explained it well. Dreyfus is great as ever!

[bmoore4026]

God, I wish there was an option for viewers to reach into the tv, drag out a character we don't like, and knock the ever loving shit out of them.  I really wanted to do that while watching this.  I really did.

 

I also have the feeling some of the stuff that was shown might have been toned down from real life.  Just a hunch.  And I'm not just talking about swearing or sex.

[Tunia]

God, I wish there was an option for viewers to reach into the tv, drag out a character we don't like, and knock the ever loving shit out of them.  I really wanted to do that while watching this.  I really did.

 

I also have the feeling some of the stuff that was shown might have been toned down from real life.  Just a hunch.  And I'm not just talking about swearing or sex.

 

That's exactly the reaction I have whenever I see Madoff on TV.

 

I have a passing acquaintance with several people who were swept up in Madoff's mess as individual investors...absolutely devastating to all.  It's important to remember, however, that it wasn't just the uber-rich who were impacted.  There were many funds, charities, pensions and the like that were invested in Madoff products, often involving the lifelong savings of retirees and the "nearly theres" who then found it necessary to extend their working days far beyond anything they ever imagined, just to stay afloat.  Rough.

 

Here's the link to the WSJ release of the list of Madoff's clients.  http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/st_madoff_victims_20081215.html

This takes you to a listing some of the high profile customers, but there is a link within the first paragraph that takes you to a complete list of Madoff victims.  It's interesting reading.

[bmoore4026]

Tunia, on 04 Feb 2016 - 02:26 AM, said:

That's exactly the reaction I have whenever I see Madoff on TV.

 

I have a passing acquaintance with several people who were swept up in Madoff's mess as individual investors...absolutely devastating to all.  It's important to remember, however, that it wasn't just the uber-rich who were impacted.  There were many funds, charities, pensions and the like that were invested in Madoff products, often involving the lifelong savings of retirees and the "nearly theres" who then found it necessary to extend their working days far beyond anything they ever imagined, just to stay afloat.  Rough.

 

Here's the link to the WSJ release of the list of Madoff's clients.  http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/st_madoff_victims_20081215.html

This takes you to a listing some of the high profile customers, but there is a link within the first paragraph that takes you to a complete list of Madoff victims.  It's interesting reading.

 

I'm so sorry about your friends.  I really can't say anything more than that.

[A Boston Gal]

I know an older couple who lost everything by investing it with Madeoff. While they were not among the super rich, they were living in a high-class downtown concierge condominium. They are now in affordable housing.

While I do not know the details of their investments, I do know that they invested everything with him. There was no diversification at all, something which drove my husband crazy. It's one thing to be conned by a sociopath, but it's always an absolute investment no-no to put all your eggs in one basket.

Still, they are victims, and both had to return to work. After the initial shock and panic, they handled their new situation with grace, even though they had their lives turned upside down.

Edited February 4, 2016 by A Boston Gal

[Ina123]

What's so blatantly mean about Madoff's Ponzi scheme was that it was the "familial" type. Most of these people, at least at first, were close family and friends. Most Ponzi schemes are random people suckering other random people. The sheer evilness that he preyed on family and friends is disgusting.

And, yes, a lot of these investors were small time. He eventually was taking anyone with any amount, like the elderly widow who almost took her's out to protect her grandaughter's education fund. What a slime ball.

Look up the 60 Minutes episode that showed all these elderly couples who had retired to Florida who were selling everything they had just to survive.

[feedee]

Looking forward to the final two hours. Held my interest and I know nothing about finances, which means I probably would have invested with Bernie. My only problem is that I find him rather adorable and hope that after tonight's final viewing I'll hate him.

[ZaldamoWilder]

Looking forward to the final two hours. Held my interest and I know nothing about finances, which means I probably would have invested with Bernie. My only problem is that I find him rather adorable and hope that after tonight's final viewing I'll hate him.

 

This.  I don't know if that charm and likability is movie or real life but I can absolutely see it being what allowed so many people, those with personal interaction with him, to invest not just the money but their faith and trust.  I hadn't seen the 60 minutes interviews, the money is important of course but the abuse of trust is what I wouldn't be able to get over.   The unfortunate thing is wasn't the guy talented at actually investing?  Why spend 50 years building a reputation to that and spend the last 5 destroying it?  It's as fascinating as it is diabolical to me. 

[Dirtybubble]

I don't know if that charm and likability is movie or real life but I can absolutely see it being what allowed so many people, those with personal interaction with him, to invest not just the money but their faith and trust.  I hadn't seen the 60 minutes interviews, the money is important of course but the abuse of trust is what I wouldn't be able to get over.   The unfortunate thing is wasn't the guy talented at actually investing?  Why spend 50 years building a reputation to that and spend the last 5 destroying it?  It's as fascinating as it is diabolical to me.

 

EXACTLY!  He said it himself the core of this entire thing is trust.  Nobody is going to trust you if you are an ass or appear to be shifty.  The fact that he made it seem that his investors were getting the best of him, as if they were somehow taking advantage of Madoff--well that is just genius!

 

And I can't say this enough kudos to Dreyfus for his acting!  It takes real talent to elicit so much emotion from us.

[lovinbob]

Blythe Danner and Ruth Madoff -- separated at birth.

 

Wasn't Hadassah pretty much ruined? That mistress got a lot less than she bargained for.

 

Still don't know if I believe the brothers were completely in the dark.

 

The whole operation behind the operation (with the fake statements, etc.) is mind-blowing. Also, I don't know if this is supposed to be the same character, someone different, or a composite, but apparently Madoff's real life secretary was given a reduced sentence because of her height?

[Bill C.]

Richard Dreyfuss was definitely the highlight of part one--his Madoff is/was definitely a sort of Palpatine-esque puppeteer, but with charm to spare.  The recurring Casino vibe of the whole thing was probably a distant second, if occasionally as subtle as a brick.  That said, no lie...the thought that stuck in my head and depressed the hell out of me was that if even a fifth of everything that happened in part one actually happened, this man probably should have been buried alive or something.

 

OTOH, Frank Whaley's Harry Markopolos seemed just a bit too numbers-geek for the rest of the show.  That probably accentuates my one serious complaint: the tone, in general, seemed oddly light and breezy in places considering the subject matter.  I suppose they didn't want to make it too dark, but still.

[monakane]

Richard Dreyfuss was definitely the highlight of part one--his Madoff is/was definitely a sort of Palpatine-esque puppeteer, but with charm to spare.  The recurring Casino vibe of the whole thing was probably a distant second, if occasionally as subtle as a brick.  That said, no lie...the thought that stuck in my head and depressed the hell out of me was that if even a fifth of everything that happened in part one actually happened, this man probably should have been buried alive or something.

 

OTOH, Frank Whaley's Harry Markopolos seemed just a bit too numbers-geek for the rest of the show.  That probably accentuates my one serious complaint: the tone, in general, seemed oddly light and breezy in places considering the subject matter.  I suppose they didn't want to make it too dark, but still.

 

HBO is doing a Madoff movie with Robert DeNiro.  That should be interesting.  I agree with you that the tone is a little too light and breezy considering the damage the Madoff did to his investors and his family.

Richard Dreyfuss was definitely the highlight of part one--his Madoff is/was definitely a sort of Palpatine-esque puppeteer, but with charm to spare.  The recurring Casino vibe of the whole thing was probably a distant second, if occasionally as subtle as a brick.  That said, no lie...the thought that stuck in my head and depressed the hell out of me was that if even a fifth of everything that happened in part one actually happened, this man probably should have been buried alive or something.

 

OTOH, Frank Whaley's Harry Markopolos seemed just a bit too numbers-geek for the rest of the show.  That probably accentuates my one serious complaint: the tone, in general, seemed oddly light and breezy in places considering the subject matter.  I suppose they didn't want to make it too dark, but still.

 

HBO is doing a Madoff movie with Robert DeNiro.  That should be interesting.  I agree with you that the tone is a little too light and breezy considering the damage the Madoff did to his investors and his family.

[Dirtybubble]

 

HBO is doing a Madoff movie with Robert DeNiro.  That should be interesting.  I agree with you that the tone is a little too light and breezy considering the damage the Madoff did to his investors and his family.

 

Well it's ABC airing it so it probably won't be so gritty but HBO--oh yeah I would guess that is where we see the real nastiness of it all.

[lovinbob]

Richard Dreyfuss was definitely the highlight of part one--his Madoff is/was definitely a sort of Palpatine-esque puppeteer, but with charm to spare.  The recurring Casino vibe of the whole thing was probably a distant second, if occasionally as subtle as a brick.  That said, no lie...the thought that stuck in my head and depressed the hell out of me was that if even a fifth of everything that happened in part one actually happened, this man probably should have been buried alive or something.

 

OTOH, Frank Whaley's Harry Markopolos seemed just a bit too numbers-geek for the rest of the show.  That probably accentuates my one serious complaint: the tone, in general, seemed oddly light and breezy in places considering the subject matter.  I suppose they didn't want to make it too dark, but still.

I read something about Madoff a few years ago, and Markopolos really stood out as this square peg in a round hole. It seems like it was his very nature as a contrarian numbers guy who wasn't interested in playing well with others that made him pursue Madoff so relentlessly. This portrayal worked for me.

[bmoore4026]

monakane, on 04 Feb 2016 - 12:35 PM, said:

HBO is doing a Madoff movie with Robert DeNiro.  That should be interesting.  I agree with you that the tone is a little too light and breezy considering the damage the Madoff did to his investors and his family.

 

So it'll be this mini-series with more cursing and the sexy sex?

[CaughtOnTape]

This movie was incredibly eye opening for me.  I never realized he was such a prick.  I've only read about him after he got caught and he looks so forlorn, I figured he just got caught up and didn't know how to get out of it once it snowballed.  But nope, he knew exactly what was up.  The lack of any kind of remorse for screwing people out of their life savings was...jaw dropping.

 

What an asshole.

[roughing it]

 

The lack of any kind of remorse for screwing people out of their life savings was...jaw dropping.

Yes, especially his loyal secretary with her inheritance.  He considered it for a quick sec, then, yup, I'll take it!! 

 

When you think about people like Eleanor, people like you and me, it's so....I can't find the words.  And when you think of companies who put their employees' pensions in his "funds" and they lost everything.  It's mindblowing.

[monakane]

This movie was incredibly eye opening for me.  I never realized he was such a prick.  I've only read about him after he got caught and he looks so forlorn, I figured he just got caught up and didn't know how to get out of it once it snowballed.  But nope, he knew exactly what was up.  The lack of any kind of remorse for screwing people out of their life savings was...jaw dropping.

 

What an asshole.

 

They did an after show last night to catch everyone up on the people involved.  ABC played a tape of Bernie being interviewed after his son's suicide.  He said he cried for "two weeks" after he heard the news.  Wow!  A whole two weeks!  What a guy! I did not know until I watched the show that his other son also died.  Talk about the sins of the father.  I do pity Ruth.  She's lost everything she loved.

Edited February 5, 2016 by monakane

[K-9]

Yes, especially his loyal secretary with her inheritance.  He considered it for a quick sec, then, yup, I'll take it!! 

I wonder if Bernard Madoff was going to pay his secretary back her $150K inheritance if he had those several days before turning himself in. 

 

So Bernard Madoff Investments did actually pay back IN FULL a lot of his investors who wanted it (if early enough).  Those investors seriously profited from the 1%-2% return per month, plus received their initial principal back. So a $1.2M investor received $200K payouts each year (for multiple years) and then demanded & received back the $1.2M.

 

Interesting that in 2016 Markopolos believes there are at least three current multi-billion dollar Ponzi schemes in progress.  http://abcnews.go.com/US/bernie-madoff-sleuth-harry-markopolos-warns-ponzi-scams/story?id=36578436

 

I turned the show off with about 30 minutes remaining (right after the smirk) because the rest of the story is well-known and frustratingly ends up a tragedy for practically everyone else except Bernard Madoff.  Is the last 30 minutes worth watching?

Edited February 5, 2016 by K-9

[ToukieSmith]

 

Interesting that in 2016 Markopolos believes there are at least three current multi-billion dollar Ponzi schemes in progress.  http://abcnews.go.co...ory?id=36578436

 

Yep.  Have you ever watched American Greed?  People are constantly falling for ponzi schemes.

[candall]

 I do pity Ruth.  She's lost everything she loved.

 

You know, I don't weep too much for Ruth.  If she were stuck sleeping on her sister's sunporch for the rest of her life, yes.  But complaining about being shunned by her hairdresser, et. al and then ultimately forced to get by on $2.5 million. . .there are probably some Madoff clients who never anticipated standing on their 75-year old feet greeting people at Walmart who might like to have a word with her about that.

 

I know that's too harsh.  I think Ruth is the most interesting character to try and puzzle out, though.   I guess I could see choosing to stick with your mate, even over your adult children, when he has absolutely no one else left at all.  But how could she could find it within herself to see past all those decades of deceit and the ruination of all those countless lives, and then draw the line at an extramarital affair?  She doesn't seem to be that much of a stickler about integrity, until she's the one deceived.

 

I wonder if she was secretly relieved to have the excuse to stop supporting him.  There's nothing Park Avenue about those prison visitor inspections.

 

I'd like to have heard she had moved to be close to her grandchildren and was doing some volunteer work in a soup kitchen, but I guess she's just holed up in that one-bedroom apartment with her $2.5 million.

 

Okay, okay, here's some sympathy for Ruth Madoff, too.  She didn't deserve to have her world shattered, either.

[Chaos Theory]

I knew the basic premise of the Madoff stuff but as I oft state real life bores me so I didn't know a lot of the details like his sons suicide and other sons death. I knew his wife was living in mostly exile with a couple mil because the govt didn't know what else to do with her.

What did interest me was that someone like Madoff would actually thrive in the prison environment because they would see him as a mastermind thief and a standup guy for trying to take the fall for the whole thing. People wanted him to rot in prison but Madof is a cockroach and you know what they say about cockroaches?

The one question I do have is about the affair? That was the one thing I was never sure of. Did Madoff have an affair or was the show using the allegement of one and people coming out of the woodwork (as people will) as a excuse to dump him for good.

[MonicaM]

Madoff actually did have an affair, and his former mistress later wrote a book about their relationship.  I didn't read it, but apparently she raked him over the coals, both on his behavior and his physical traits, if you get my drift.  

 

When I first started watching the program, I was disappointed that he wasn't portrayed like the monster he turned out to be.  However, I realized that the portrayal of him as a not unlikable person was probably realistic.  If he had shown anything close to his true colors, he would never have had a huge client base to scam.  I still can't get over his willingness to scam even his secretary with her one time inheritance.

 

I don't know if his wife was a part of the scamming or not, but I still have little sympathy for her.  She seems like the type who would have been one of the first to shun another wife of a prominent businessman if there was a scandal involved, so she shouldn't be surprised when she gets the same treatment. 

[Bill C.]

Since Bernie apparently kept his brother and sons almost completely out of the loop regarding his real agenda, his keeping his wife out of it as well just makes sense to me.  It's just one more thing cementing his status as a sociopath/narcissist, IMO, if a charming one.  (And if you think of Karen Hill, Henry Hill's wife--see also Goodfellas, especially since Madoff went all the way there with his parting monologue--her being relatively okay with presenting a united front against a threat to her husband until he directly wronged her makes a grim, messed-up sense.)

 

Watching the ABC News special after the second part of the miniseries, I thought it was similarly light and fluffy--considering--in tone to it.  Going from that to PBS's 2009 Frontline episode about him and some of his associates was a bit of a shift, but they all in the end cemented one thing: this guy probably did need to be buried alive.

[LADreamr]

I missed what was charming about him. He just came off slimy and awful to me. I kept having to take a break from watching it. I did think it was all very well done, though.

[RedheadZombie]

I had forgotten which son committed suicide, so I kept hoping it wasn't Andy.  Not that it's not sad that Mark died, but he was portrayed as such a whiner.  If he didn't enjoy the job that was handed to him by his father, he should have left and worked for someone else, or even started his own business.  But to stay year after year, petulant and complaining that daddy wasn't fair - it just worked my last nerve.

 

I turned the show off with about 30 minutes remaining (right after the smirk) because the rest of the story is well-known and frustratingly ends up a tragedy for practically everyone else except Bernard Madoff.  Is the last 30 minutes worth watching?

 

I think losing both of your children is a tragedy, even though most of the tragedy was Bernie's making.  Even a narcissist can love his kids, and Bernie cared enough for his sons that he made sure they had plausible deniability.  Suicide is bad enough, but then losing your other son because of the "family curse" - well I'm sure he's suffered somewhat.

 

I'm confused as to why Bernie never attempted to flee.  I felt like the movie gave the impression that a part of Bernie wanted to get caught, so his true brilliance would be known. 

 

You know, I don't weep too much for Ruth.  If she were stuck sleeping on her sister's sunporch for the rest of her life, yes.  But complaining about being shunned by her hairdresser, et. al and then ultimately forced to get by on $2.5 million. . .there are probably some Madoff clients who never anticipated standing on their 75-year old feet greeting people at Walmart who might like to have a word with her about that.

 

I know that's too harsh.  I think Ruth is the most interesting character to try and puzzle out, though.   I guess I could see choosing to stick with your mate, even over your adult children, when he has absolutely no one else left at all.  But how could she could find it within herself to see past all those decades of deceit and the ruination of all those countless lives, and then draw the line at an extramarital affair?  She doesn't seem to be that much of a stickler about integrity, until she's the one deceived.

 

I wonder if she was secretly relieved to have the excuse to stop supporting him.  There's nothing Park Avenue about those prison visitor inspections.

 

I'd like to have heard she had moved to be close to her grandchildren and was doing some volunteer work in a soup kitchen, but I guess she's just holed up in that one-bedroom apartment with her $2.5 million.

 

Okay, okay, here's some sympathy for Ruth Madoff, too.  She didn't deserve to have her world shattered, either.

 

Well when you make the decision at the age of thirteen that this is the man who's going to take care of me the rest of my life, you're just handing your destiny over to another person.  It was sad that she seemed the type who didn't necessarily relish super-wealth.  She didn't seem like a snob who put on airs.  I can't imagine how she dealt with losing both her children.  And I think the show cheated a little by leaving out any reaction from Ruth or Bernie.  In fact, they followed the suicide with Ruth hanging out on the couch, as if that was her reaction.  It seemed a little strange.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Despite seeing what I assume, were Madoff's real life victims toward the end, and him going to prison; just with the whole voice over narration of the mini-series, I got the feeling, the audience were supposed to feel sorry for his ass?

 

I didn't see any charm, but a whole lotta sleaze for sure.  And with Michael Rispoli playing Frank, I guess I'm so used to seeing him play mob flunkies, and with the accent, I had to try and recall if his character did indeed have mob ties. So distracting.

 

So, this is like two odd hours of my life I won't get back.

[candall]

Madoff must have struck some perfect balance of confident intellectual superiority with enough genial personality to be disarming.  Full-on Prince Charming would have been wrong--investors came looking for him, the financial mastermind, not the other way around (until the end.)

 

But you probably can't run a con spinning gold out of air for decades if your marks don't feel a personal connection.  It was fascinating how the people asking for their initial investments back were hemming and hawing and apologetic--I don't think that's how millionaires usually sever business ties.  Please remit all funds. . .

 

Yeesh.  You know, he really was brilliant. 

 

I think they cast Dreyfuss because he's always been likeable and pretty darn charming without having Clooney looks in his trick bag.  Kind of shocking that the pictures of the real Bernie Madoff looked friendlier and more approachable, to me.

[ToukieSmith]

 

 

Madoff must have struck some perfect balance of confident intellectual superiority with enough genial personality to be disarming.  Full-on Prince Charming would have been wrong--investors came looking for him, the financial mastermind, not the other way around (until the end.)

But you probably can't run a con spinning gold out of air for decades if your marks don't feel a personal connection.  It was fascinating how the people asking for their initial investments back were hemming and hawing and apologetic--I don't think that's how millionaires usually sever business ties.  Please remit all funds. . .

 

It was the performance of Madoff's fund that hooked everyone.  All he had to do was market his hedge fund to managers that were not skilled enough to question/challenge Madoff's investment approach*.  I am sure he appeared knowledgeable to them and he put on his very best performance with them.  They were probably friends/associates he knew from school, the neighborhood.  Once he got these folks hooked, then the news spread about his returns.   Everyone else jumped on the bandwagon.

 

*Some executives are not necessarily subject matter experts.  They are people that are good at politicking.  Thus, as shown in the miniseries, they have no idea what the screens are showing because they don't work at that level of detail/specificity.  They don't know the right questions to ask and they won't ask questions because they don't want to look like they don't know. 

Edited February 8, 2016 by ToukieSmith

[lovinbob]

Dreyfus NAILED that smirk, the one that "Madoff" said did him in with the public. That scene was so well done.

[Chaos Theory]

I think that is often the point of these kind of cases. We see the sleeze and sociopathy now and it taints the way we see him then and are even more likely to wonder how those idiots fell for it when it was just so obvious. However from all accounts he was charming and brilliant. on paper he made people millions and he had a reputation of being a king maker. This was not someone who looked or acted like a monster.

Edited February 8, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[Catherinewriter]

Bernie was a monster, but I am wondering why so much attention was given to him when all the banks, hedge funds, etc., were doing their own illegal business that deprived millions of people of their homes, savings, jobs, etc. Bernie's victims were in the thousands, not the millions. And none of those other guys are in prison. 

 

Was he possibly being made a scapegoat to cover up the other stuff that was happening. Weren't the Lehmans, Stearns, etc. grateful beyond belief that the attention was taken away from him.

 

Excellent acting, I thought. Blythe Danner should get an Emmy. 

[ZaldamoWilder]

Bernie was a monster, but I am wondering why so much attention was given to him when all the banks, hedge funds, etc., were doing their own illegal business that deprived millions of people of their homes, savings, jobs, etc. Bernie's victims were in the thousands, not the millions. And none of those other guys are in prison. 

 

Was he possibly being made a scapegoat to cover up the other stuff that was happening. Weren't the Lehmans, Stearns, etc. grateful beyond belief that the attention was taken away from him.

 

Excellent acting, I thought. Blythe Danner should get an Emmy. 

 

Just my opinion but one of the differences could be that in wall street's case, it doesn't meet the technical definition of criminality.    Predatory lending practices are crocodileish, misleading and downright shitty, no question.  However, they're practices that could not have been executed but for the ignorance of the borrowers.   The crocodiles are counting on hiding the details in the paper shuffle, but all they were was hidden, not absent.  The unfortunate part about people who were swindled by this hustle is they forgot the first rule in hustleism:  if you're involved with an outfit profiting from your ignorance, you better make sure you keep your eye on which shell the ball is under, because it is not the hustle man's fault if you don't.   I hate that there are some people out there that had their whole lives ruined by this process, but if I'm being honest, I can't blame the process.   How I think Bernie was different is that the contract/enterprise/agreement whatever the formal entry was, was fraudulent.  I don't even think his crime is really about his victims, more than the SEC and IRS having to make him pay for their embarrassment. 

 

I had forgotten which son committed suicide, so I kept hoping it wasn't Andy.  Not that it's not sad that Mark died, but he was portrayed as such a whiner.  If he didn't enjoy the job that was handed to him by his father, he should have left and worked for someone else, or even started his own business.  But to stay year after year, petulant and complaining that daddy wasn't fair - it just worked my last nerve.

 

 

I think losing both of your children is a tragedy, even though most of the tragedy was Bernie's making.  Even a narcissist can love his kids, and Bernie cared enough for his sons that he made sure they had plausible deniability.  Suicide is bad enough, but then losing your other son because of the "family curse" - well I'm sure he's suffered somewhat.

 

I'm confused as to why Bernie never attempted to flee.  I felt like the movie gave the impression that a part of Bernie wanted to get caught, so his true brilliance would be known. 

 

 

Well when you make the decision at the age of thirteen that this is the man who's going to take care of me the rest of my life, you're just handing your destiny over to another person.  It was sad that she seemed the type who didn't necessarily relish super-wealth.  She didn't seem like a snob who put on airs.  I can't imagine how she dealt with losing both her children.  And I think the show cheated a little by leaving out any reaction from Ruth or Bernie.  In fact, they followed the suicide with Ruth hanging out on the couch, as if that was her reaction.  It seemed a little strange.

 

I think you answered your own question.  Narcissists' earmark.

[albaniantv]

I felt sorry for Ruth too. Little education, no experience with the world, she turned her whole life over to Bernie back when it was usual for wives to do so. For so many years, it looked like her decision was a good one: great kids, living the good life, husband mostly around and often offering up another house or vacation or whatever she wanted. Boom, it all disappears and she had promised "for better or worse." I'm guessing this was the first time Bernie really needed her for anything critical. It probably never entered her mind that by sticking with him, she would start another avalanche ending with her two sons dying and her exile from a relationship with her grandchildren.

Not sure whether her tragedy is really that significant, compared to the effects Madoff had on all those investors' families we know very little about.

[CaughtOnTape]

Bernie was a monster, but I am wondering why so much attention was given to him when all the banks, hedge funds, etc., were doing their own illegal business that deprived millions of people of their homes, savings, jobs, etc. Bernie's victims were in the thousands, not the millions. And none of those other guys are in prison. 

 

Was he possibly being made a scapegoat to cover up the other stuff that was happening. Weren't the Lehmans, Stearns, etc. grateful beyond belief that the attention was taken away from him.

 

Excellent acting, I thought. Blythe Danner should get an Emmy. 

 

What ZaldamoWilder said and also, I don't believe the other financial institutions were doing anything really considered illegal.  They were making bad investments concerning the housing industry, but it wasn't illegal.

Dick move?  Absolutely.  Morally repugnant?  Totally.  But not illegal.  Which is sad.