Bernie Madoff, mastermind behind biggest investment fraud, dies in prison

Bernard Madoff, mastermind of the biggest investment fraud in U.S. history, ripping off tens of thousands of clients of as much as $65 billion, died Wednesday. He was 82. Mr Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison in 2009 after he admitted he had defrauded investors through a Ponzi scheme, which paid out using their money rather than any profits. It collapsed during the financial crisis of 2008. Mr Madoff started his financial career aged 22 with $5,000 from money made from summer holiday jobs such as working as a garden sprinkler installer in New York.
His firm became one of the largest market-makers - matching buyers and sellers of stocks - and Mr Madoff served as chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The firm was investigated eight times by the US Securities and Exchange Commission because it made exceptional returns. But it was the global recession which effectively prompted Mr Madoff's demise as investors, hit by the downturn, tried to withdraw about $7bn from his funds and he could not find the money to cover it. The list of Madoff's victims includes film director Steven Spielberg's charitable foundation, Wunderkinder. UK banks were also among the victims with HSBC Holdings saying it had exposure of around $1bn. Other corporate victims were Royal Bank of Scotland and Man Group and Japan's Nomura Holdings. School teachers, farmers, mechanics and many others have also lost money.