Advertising
You are not logged in

New York Magazine

Skip to content, or skip to search.

Skip to content, or skip to search.

Charities, Old People, Jews Hit Hardest by Madoff Fraud

12/15/08 at 11:01 AM

Charities, Old People, Jews Hit Hardest by Madoff Fraud

Photo: Ruby Washington/New York Times/Redux

Information is still trickling out about who lost money (and how much) with Bernard Madoff, the legendary New York investor whose sons turned him in to authorities last week after he admitted that the investment arm of his securities firm was "a giant Ponzi scheme." But as the SEC sifts through the rubble of his midtown office, a list is taking shape that gives some idea of the magnitude of Madoff's crime. What's truly heartbreaking is that it's not just deep-pocketed giants like Steven Spielberg and Swiss banks who lost out, but charities — several have already shut their doors and fired their staffs — and a crowd of pastel-panted Palm Beach senior citizens whose dreams of living out their days on the golf course have been dashed. Below, a list of known victims so far, which we'll try to update as they roll in.

Banco Santander – Spanish bank reported yesterday that clients of one of its Swiss subsidiaries have lost $3 billion.
Banque Bénédict Hentsch – $47.5 million worth of client assets at risk.
Basically everyone at the Palm Beach Country Club – Madoff has belonged since 1996. "I’m taking care of my sick mother-in-law," one member, Richard Spring, 73, told the Times. "My wife has cancer. I just can’t deal with it. I’m cooked."

BNP Paribas – Did not invest directly in the Madoff funds but has 350 million euros, or about $500 million, at risk through trades and loans to hedge funds.
Chais Family Foundation – Gives out some $12.5 million each year to Jewish causes in Israel, the former Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe; announced yesterday that it had closed after losing all of its money through investments with Madoff.
Elie Wiesel Foundation – Invested money with Madoff — its losses are thus far unknown.
Fairfield, Conn. – $42 million, or 15 percent of the town's retiree pension fund.
Madoff employees – "Generations of employees had worked for Madoff and invested their savings there."
Fred Wilpon – New York Mets owner, unknown.
HSBC – Made loans to institutions that invested in Madoff; has not disclosed the size of its potential losses.
Avram J. Goldberg – Founder of the Stop & Shop supermarket chain.
J. Ezra Merkin – Chairman of GMAC Financial Services, unknown.
Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles – $18 million of the Foundation's Common Investment Pool (currently valued at 11 percent of its assets) was invested with Madoff.
Julian J. Levitt Foundation – Texas-based Jewish charity, lost about $6 million.
Mort Zuckerman, Daily News owner – "Significant exposure through a fund that invested substantially all of its assets with Mr. Madoff," according to the Journal.
New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg – "One of the wealthiest members of the Senate, entrusted his family's charitable foundation to Madoff. Lautenberg's attorney, Michael Griffinger, said they weren't yet sure the extent of the foundation's losses, but that the bulk of its investments had been handled by Madoff."
Nomura Holdings Inc. – Tokyo investment firm; said today it had $302 million in exposure.
Norman Braman – Former Philadelphia Eagles owner, unknown.
The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System – $5 million
Neue Privat Bank – Acknowledged being at risk.
Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation – The Boston-based charity, which financed trips for Jewish youth to Israel, announced last week: "The money needed to fund the programs of the Lappin Foundation is gone. The foundation staff has been terminated today."
Walter M. Noel Jr. – The founder of the Fairfield Greenwich Group investment firm invested millions of dollars with Madoff over twenty years. “He was a person of superb ethics, and this has to cut him to the quick,” George L. Ball, a colleague of Noel's, told the Times.
The Wunderkinder Foundation, Steven Spielberg's charity – "In 2006, the Madoff firm accounted for roughly 70% of the foundation's interest and dividend income, according to regulatory filings."
Reichmuth – 385 million Swiss francs, or $327 million, in potential losses.
Yeshiva University – "Sources close to Yeshiva University, where Madoff served as treasurer of the board of trustees and chairman of the board of Y.U.’s Sy Syms School of Business until he resigned last week, said that the school has lost tens of millions of dollars, if not more," according to Jewish and Israel News.

The 17th Floor, Where Wealth Went to Vanish [NYT]
List of potential victims grows in Madoff case [MSNBC]
Not just super rich caught up in Madoff case[AP]
Losses in Madoff Case Spread [WSJ]
A Palm Beach Enclave, Stunned by an Inside Job [NYT]
Is Bernie Madoff Jewish? Very. Oy. [LA Observed]

Advertising
Senior Editors
Chris Rovzar and Jessica Pressler
Managing Editor
Jessica Coen
Articles Editor
Nick Catucci
Recent News