FNTN

Introduction.

Bernard Madoff - the greatest 'fat cat' swindler of Wall Street of all time.

 It’s funny to think how in one day someone can go from fat cat to alley cat, just on the sound of a judges gavel. On receiving his 150 year jail sentence Bernard Madoff, the biggest swindler in the history of Wall Street, has done just that – going from being one of the biggest of fat cats overseeing a supposed $65 billion financial empire to scratching an existence as an alley cat in a US prison, which because of the sentence will not be a minimum security ‘Club Fed’ type one.

Who really lost in the Madoff case?

Whilst Madoff might have lost his freedom and will, presumably, die in jail unless some mercy plea were to be granted, it is his thousands of victims that will be serving their own life sentences as they try to scratch out a living on their reduced circumstances.  Tales of his victims having to sell their home’s, postpone or even give up on any chances of retirement and even having to scavenge food from skips to pay for his mistakes and misdemeanors are emerging; all of which makes it understandable that his victims feel nothing but distain and fury towards him. It would have been one thing to in effect rob large corporations or the unimaginably wealthy to fund his schemes, but the fact that many of his victims were simply good, honest and hard working folk seeking to secure and save funding for future projects, makes what he did truly despicable.

Who can you trust with your money?

This case can only raise questions in people’s minds as to how safe is it to save and invest their money? The fact is that saving and investing your money is a darn sight safer that just sticking it under the mattress. If you don’t believe that read the articles about the women in Israel whose daughter threw out a mattress with $1 million stuffed in it! Also, not all financial advisers and finance companies are crooks just out to take money from you. However, the one sensible thing to do is follow the old saying and “don’t put all your eggs in the one basket”. So, have your pension plan with one company, have your health insurance with another, take out a mortgage with a third company etc. These days using the internet it is just so easy to find and compare finance offers which, even if you don’t take them up, you can use as information when discussing loans and mortgages etc with a financial advisor.

This fat cat simply had too much of the cream!