Is Bernard Madoff Evil?
I’ll tell you right off that I claim to have no answer to the question that’s the title of this post. That’s a little above my spiritual grade, you might say. And I guess there really is no knowable, provable answer to the question anyway. I recently watched a documentary series called “Most Evil,” in which a Columbia University professor used a scale he’d devised to actually measure the relative “evil” of a host of serial killers. I know of no such scale for thieves. But in the case of Bernard Madoff, perhaps history’s worst individual thief/swindler at least in terms of dollar amounts, it’s an interesting topic.
Elie Wiesel, who survived Hitler’s concentration camps and has probably done more than anyone over the decades to make sure what happened to the Jews of Europe is never forgotten, was a Madoff victim. This is from a recent article on Portfolio.com.
Nobody knows depravity like Elie Wiesel knows depravity. And does he ever see it in Bernie Madoff.Wiesel, whose charitable foundation was wiped out by Madoff, has until now mostly kept quiet about the alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme. But today, the Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize recipient spoke passionately about his betrayal by Madoff, whom he referred to variously as "a crook, a thief, a scoundrel," as well as a "swindler" and "evil." (emphasis added)
I would defer to Mr. Wiesel on the topic of evil any day. (He also lost his entire personal fortune in the swindle). But since there’s no absolute answer to the eternal questions of what is evil and what is not, here are three more questions about the Madoff case to figure in your own personal calculations.
--- Does it matter who the victims are?
Charities and the elderly were among the hardest hit by Madoff’s deception. Many nonprofits which trusted their money with him have simply had to close their doors. Who can even guess how many individuals as a result can’t get medical care, food, and shelter?
--- Does it matter how long the deception was maintained?
As impressive as the amount of money Madoff allegedly stole is the number of years he maintained the scam. Some began questioning the returns he was getting as early as the 1980’s. To me, one of the most stunning developments in this story came when we learned he had not bought any securities for his clients at all for at least a decade. Every statement every client received was a complete fiction. And yet, through those years, Madoff cooly and calmly kept gathering clients, right up until he knew he was going to get caught.
--- Does it matter if remorse is shown?
I guess we’ll all see on Thursday if he or his attorneys make any public show of remorse. But so far, I haven’t had the sense that he’s upset about anything concerning his victims. That wouldn’t necessarily make him evil. But it would make him a complete sociopath.
So I throw the question your way: Is Bernard Madoff just a man who did some very bad things? Is he a bad man – a sociopath? Or is he evil?
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Comments: 25
Bernard Madoff is a Sociopathic Evil Person. He needs to be locked up now. Forget about waiting for sentencing. He is an evil person & needs to be put away for life.
I'm tired so I will just end this evening with a few comments. I think Madoff is a selfish, money hungry, miserable human being. He is living in his 7 million dollar penthouse, while others are living in squallor. And, he expects his wife to keep 67 million dollars of this stolen money? Since they are now saying that he "should" get 150 years in jail, I say that's NOT ENOUGH TIME FOR HIM!
Evil Jim, is a kind word for a man of this caliber.
Lee *and goodnight for now
jim your an idiot. stop talking about stupid shit. i think madoff had a great plan going till he got caught. we are in a monotary system and money comes first even before life and health. talk about real problem like the war which was replace by this fake economic crisis tht the government new was going to happen.
jim your an idiot. stop talking about stupid shit. i think madoff had a great plan going till he got caught. we are in a monotary system and money comes first even before life and health. talk about real problem like the war which was replace by this fake economic crisis tht the government new was going to happen.
To call this man evil, yes its evil that people put their trust in somone to invest their money and that person is taking peoples money to invest in them selfs.He got the whole 9 fraud,perjury and
11 criminal counts. throw him in jail.
i think poeple aren't born evil, but have evil inclinations. everyone has free choice and he chose to give into his greed and desires. therefore he isn't evil but his desires lesd him down the wrong path and caused him to act in an evil manner.
ABSOLUTELY!! Remorse, or no remorse..if the intent is greed..it just stinks of evil. When so many innocent lives were ruined by him and he's getting off so lightly in comparison. A lifetime for him is nothing, in comparison to the life of financial hell he's caused others.
madoff is not the evil one here. money is and we all know this but we continue to blame those who have the greed for money. we are all taught that money is key to survive in a monotary system all u people who write so this guy can read your shit on tv are idiots. if you where in madoffs position you would do the same shit. please dont come and say that u wont cuz im pretty sure you would. the american dream to bad you have to be asleep to get it.
many commenter here are just throwing useless and bad words around, which is meaningless
Madoff is another good example of "the love of money is the root of ALL evil", the bad news is no one ever seems to learn from it.
I don't know if I should say Madoff is evil. What I think is, he probably knows this day will come someday once he started this scheme, the question is just when.
"Does it matter if remorse is shown?"
I think it does matter. If he shows signs of remorse, then may be he can get some kind of credit. We tend to easier to forgive others if they feel sorry about what they did (instead of sorry to get caught). But, so far he didn't show any remorse. He is even trying to send his money to his wife and other places instead of returning them to the investors. He definitely gets what he deserves.
"madoff is not the evil one here. money is and we all know this but we continue to blame those who have the greed for money."
Really?? Then let's get all the evil money from your bank account, any kind of funds and trusts, I will keep the evil money for you so you won't be hurt by it...
Money, among other stuffs, is just a tool, it depends on how you use it. You can use the money you earned to support your family, you can also pull out schemes like this guy to get yourself rich, and then get arrested and get behind bars.
If you are not going to blame the fork and knife you use to eat food when you are hungry, then don't blame the money.
In my opinion old Bernie took great pleasure duping people out of their money. He screwed people out of their life savings, because, they let him. The American dream is only that. If you can make your own money, that's the real American dream. I don't understand why people don't just handle their own money. I would never get a financial advisor. As far as charities are concerned, he is really pathetic.
Just a couple of million dollars should have been enough for him, but apparently it wasn't.
Don't misunderstand me. I think what he did was hateful.
I met Elie Weisel. I can't believe he was blindsighted by Madoff.
In case you've never seen Satan, you are seeing him in the face of Bernie Madoff. He was smiling and busy at work for the past 25 years. How Bernie's wife and sons are sleeping nights is beyond me-unless they too are taken over by the Devil. May God and conscience make them give up all they possible can.
In case you've never seen Satan, you are seeing him in the face of Bernie Madoff. He was smiling and busy at work for the past 25 years. How Bernie's wife and sons are sleeping nights is beyond me-unless they too are taken over by the Devil. May God and conscience make them give up all they possible can.
In case you've never seen Satan, you are seeing him in the face of Bernie Madoff. He was smiling and busy at work for the past 25 years. How Bernie's wife and sons are sleeping nights is beyond me-unless they too are taken over by the Devil. May God and conscience make them give up all they possible can.
Money is not evil, it's what people do with it that makes it either a good thing or a bad thing.
If a person gives to charity, then money is a good thing. If a person gives their time and energy to those in need, that is a good thing.
Madoff just stole from everyone he could. That is when money becomes evil, selfish and he should be loathing himself for what he did.
If he plea bargins and it seems like he is doing that, do you really think he will "save himself".
I doubt it. Yes, he will get multiple jail time, but I don't think he or his wife should keep ANY money at this point in time.
Lee *I can hardly believe something like this has happened. It is just mind boggling.
I responded to your last post in the previous section. I hope you get a chance to read it. I understand your anxst on the subject.
Lee
Got it, and answered it there. Thanks again.
Mike
Lately I've been hearing about his wife going to court to keep anything that's in her name. I say seize anything that's in her name or her kids name if they can't prove that they spend their own money that they worked for on those items. When drug dealers get arrested, they seize everything regardless if it's someone's else name. Why should the Madoff's be different? He didn't think twice about taking someone's else money. Just like those people are suffering, he should get the same treatment.
No morals. No values. No ethics. If I'm not mistaken, one of his own sons invested in Madoff's firm. Didn't know his own old man was scamming him too until Madoff up and decided to spill the beans to both his sons. You see Madoff coming and going to the trial proceedings and it's like he doesn't even care. Sounds like a pure sociopath to me.
Also, a question: is it me or is it whenever the subject of Bernie Madoff comes up, your colleague Peter Thorne seems to become boiling mad?
No morals. No values. No ethics. If I'm not mistaken, one of his own sons invested in Madoff's firm. Didn't know his own old man was scamming him too until Madoff up and decided to spill the beans to both his sons. You see Madoff coming and going to the trial proceedings and it's like he doesn't even care. He has no loyalty to anyone, no conscience. Sounds like a pure sociopath to me.
Also, a question: is it me or is it whenever the subject of Bernie Madoff comes up, your colleague Peter Thorne seems to become boiling mad?
Oh dear. Sorry about the double posting!
Jim,
I was thinking about the Mega Millions post and I know what I would want to do beside treating
myself, is find a cure for cancer, heart disease and auto-ammune disorders.
Of course, these illnesses are close to my heart, as my daughter, mother and father and other relatives, have had their share of woes in these areas. My parents are deceased, but my daughter is fighting the cancer issue.
I would also hope to find a cure for mental illness, as all of the above stressors can cause a person to have a nervous breakdown.
I also saw Mayor Bloomberg on the news today, and he seems like a very nice charitable man. He doesn't get paid for his job, and he doesn't have to work. He is the richest man in NYC, but I think that's great. He did it the honest way.
Lee *GOOD FOR YOU MAYOR BLOOMBERG!!!
please stop blogging
r u talkin to me honey?
Radix malorem est cupiditas