dont know about that. but i keep getting emails from some manager at the bank of china, about some dead person that left me money. also been getting emails about winning the uk lotto,. didnt know i played. lol
HELLO GENTLEMENS. I AM BARRISTER SWANSKI MORODDO of the main bank here in UGANDA at the PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE. I have been wanting to be of contact with both of the you for your sum of ONE MILLION US DOLLARS (100.000.000USD) by transport of DHL CARRIER SERVICES. Please contact me with no delay on this matter.
cmdraftbrn ccarreon you guys are so lucky this guy, David Holcomb just happened to be looking at the comments on this video. I’m not even lucky enough to find a dollar on the ground.
That's because the documentaries went into way more detail. Details that frankly most people can't understand. The clear concise way you speak of is called layman's terms.
The IMF and Federal Reserve bank are two ponzi schemes bigger and worse than Bernie Madoff. Madoff was unfortunately, just doing what all his buddies in power were doing.
He didn't play on people's greed, he worked their egos. By offering a sense of exclusivity to his investors, they felt special. By turning down some profitable, but high profile clients, he stroked their egos even more. One of the primary draws of limited membership clubs is the ability to say "I'm a member".
Christopher Conard oh you nailed that one psychologically! He laid those honey traps that were just irresistible to egomaniacs. Not that I don’t feel bad for the people whose lives he ruined, but like I’ve always heard: If it sounds too good to be true; it is.
Social Security is an ADMITTED Pyramid Scheme. Or, rather, paid by outside sources. (Specifically, tax dollars). And, you should probably add an "Overly", but yup. Returns in investment will always have variability, period, unless something else is going on. So, if anyone ever offers you "Guaranteed" returns and it isn't a Treasury Bond? Run.
I think Pyramid Schemes are like Communism. It "should work" on paper. If the person utilizing it is A) open and honest that's what he's doing, and B) Not an idiot / greedy. But both of those things never happen.
I expect to defend myself from many stupid and wicked cops & vigilantes, by me just enforcing my own boundaries. Abusers are abusers, no matter what form they take. If I ever do become a super villain or super antihero, for just protecting myself & mine. Having a "victim" fund named after me, would be an amusing goal. And with all the money the government steals from us through unfair taxes & fees, and how things like infrastructure and other services don't get properly funded. It's odd they would need to set up a fund. They can't pocket less money, and pay for things themselves?
armchair quarterbacking ... his wife was his bookkeeper... please . one son committed suicide.. would be interesting to get an actual list of those who did kno and were paid off... 💩
The South Sea Company comes to mind as an earlier ponzi scheme, (although predating the term). Extra Credits has a nice series on it. My apologies if someone else brought it up already, (I honestly got tired of sifting through the comments to try and check). Thank you for this and other informative vids!
but the South Sea Company was made to help England's debt, this scandal was made because some guy was greedy (also, have you ever heard of F4, it helps when trying to locate something in a lot of text).
It seems odd to me how no one listened to the one person who knew what was going on. Reminds me of the ancient Greek myth of Cassandra who was given the gift of prophecy (to see into the future), but it was actually a curse which whenever she foretold the future no one would believe her. Anyways, nice video, keep it up.
TheAceOffRoad what if all the victims knew about the scheme but just go on with because everyone wants the benefit but when it falls no one wants to be apart of it. sorry for my bad English. reminds me of The movie (money monster )the villain said that everyone will say nothing if the scheme makes more money for them.
Muammar Gibran well, if people believed Cassandra, the city of Troy could have been able to defend itself, and if Agamemnon had survived the war and gotten home with Cassandra as a prize, his wife, Clytemnestra wouldn’t have been able to kill him
He was a relative nobody with a tiny portfolio armed with a (very true!) hunch. He also trusted absolutely no one. Compare this to multimillionaire investors who all got the money they wanted from Madoff. Fun fact: the SEC finally sent an investigator to Madoff after enough begging. And Madoff conned the SEC investigator. The investigator wrote that Madoff was either innocent or the world's greatest liar. And the case was dropped.
Company Man - I hear some people asking for a face reveal. Unless you're really photogenic, enjoy speaking on camera, or just really, really want to do it, I would suggest against it. I don't understand subscriber's fascination with seeing what a UA-camr looks like (well I get it, it's like celebrity ogling) but still...I personally enjoy it when UA-camrs remain anonymous. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting you to do livestreams with face cam, hangouts, and all kinds of other stupid crap. And once it's out there, there's no getting it back. I love the format of your show as is. I hope you keep it. No fuss, no muss. Just great content. Informative. Well presented, good editing, and entertaining. Clear and focused narration. I couldn't ask for more.
Just discovered your channel and am learning a lot! Thank you for the simple and concise way you explained this debacle, Enron, and Lehman Bros. I did not follow any of these scandals in the news when they took place but always felt that I should know about them. Appreciate you doing the research legwork. I very definitely appreciate your descriptions of the complete histories of businesses in your other videos, going back to the founders a hundred or more years ago. Also, I am entertained by the end music in your reviews of retail stores. It reminds me strongly of the annoyingly loud "shopping music" I must listen to when shopping certain places. Yes, Kohl's, I'm looking at you. Company Man, keep up the great work!
Even a bank or bitcoin exchange for that matter. Look at the Greece bank when everyone went to get their money out at once. There’s no backed gold standard anymore. Money is just a promise to pay and only has value because people think it does.
Madoff wasn't even close to being the only person to do this or continue to do this...He simply was the only one caught and crucified to cover up the rest of the crooks
Why would Mark commit suicide though? Sure things gotta be tough on him but man, if he was truly innocent..... he would be able to tell himself only he and the lord knows that and that would be enough to keep going and atone for his father's crimes.
Amway also has a Ponzi scheme going on. They own the Orlando Magic. I went to a meeting from an invite by a guy I made small talk about a job. He said it was marketing. But basically it was a scheme to make you open up an online website to link people to stores like nike and other big brand names they threw out to impress people in the room. I knew it was super shady when they said you had to make a deposit of over 100 dollars so they could help you get started. Watching the Last Week Tonight segment on Pyramid Schemes and attending this meeting felt like Deja Vu, they were using so many similar tactics to get you into thinking you could be your own business and get other to work for you by being a leader. I said bye and never met that guy again.
Lived in Grand Rapids for a decade (Amway is headquartered in the area.) I can't tell you how many times I came across peers wrapped up in direct marketing.
Just like the Orlando Magic, screwing its fanbase, passing on potential stars by drafting busts, trading draft pics for garbage, and not developing+holding unto stars like Shaq and Tmac. One of the worst Nba franchises of all time.
The only reason it's legal is because you technically are "working" for the money. You still have to sign up the people below you to take a piece of their money and if it doesn't work, that $100 you spent still gets you the "starter pack" of bullshit products so it's consider as if all you did was buy some personal products for yourself.
Your Icon makes it look like you’re a shadowy figure who worked undercover to reveal the truth about Madoff And you’re still working undercover as an insider at all these other companies even now.
Bitcoin is more pump and dump rather than Ponzi Scheme as is often being said. Pump and dump is still fraud and something that has been done numerous times with other kinds of investments (primarily stocks and bonds but not exclusively in them too). There are definitely Ponzi schemes being done with Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as well, particularly with the exchanges (where you need to be incredibly cautious when you trade virtual currency for real currency in either direction). I completely agree it is something that by itself deserves an episode on this channel.... but it is also incredibly complex and needs somebody who knows cryptocurrencies to get involved to explain the whole situation.
I think that is worth looking most into is not bitconnect itself, but rather the culture around bitcoin in the mainstream, with Bitconnect being the biggest example at the moment. I think it is crazy to see the way they are trying to market it to the mainstream, and pretty much scamming people. I am currently living in Japan, and it is not rare to see UA-cam ads about bitcoin services, seeing billboards in Tokyo talking about it and the alike.
I believe there were not many "innocent" investors. For Bernie to be earning these 10-12% return on their money most had assumed he was insider trading which they were all cool with.
S&P 500 has returned an average of 10% over nearly any 10 year period. One year it returns 20% and the next it returns 5%, or in the case of 2008 it dropped 40%. Madoff was promising 12% every single year and delivered like clockwork. Big difference. I recommend an S&P500 index fund because of the long term averages. No financial adviser or fund owner who is legit will promise a particular return on investment every year. If they do, run away.
Chris Geld umm 12 percent is not likely or common and there is not one S&P etf that has consistently done 1 percent per month.l is closer to 13 percent annually btw 13 percent over any length of time is amazing.
Matthew Familia lol in madoffs day? How old are you? How long have you been investing? Today is in madoffs day. Either way back then and today nothing has changed it was just as hard back then as it is today to find a fund consistently providing 13 percent. You can’t find any.
They investigated him and asked him if he was doing anything wrong and he said no. They then asked him "Are these the droids we are looking for?" He waved his hand and said "These are not the droids you are looking for."
That feeling when Company Man uploads a video and you're not around WiFi... and you only have 400 megabytes of high-speed data left... and you still have 3 weeks before your next bill... and you're pissing everybody off with run-on sentences.
Two things that you have to remember about the whole saga here: 1. Basic human nature is greedy - that is to say, everyone wants to get the most they can for the least amount. It's no wonder, then, that this scheme appealed to so many people. Who was going to pass up potential profits like this? 2. Basic blind faith in people and/or institutions. Note how many people are looking to the Justice Department to make them whole - even to the point of a victims fund having been established. It was easy to invest in the scam if you believe that there was always going to be somebody, somewhere who was going to backstop your investment and keep you from having to suffer from a bad decision. As far as whether there is something similar currently going on? Look no farther than anything out there that involves cryptocurrency in any manner shape or form. Crowdfunding - both reward and equity - also fits the bill nicely.
Ash Kitt -- Uhh...I have to disagree. Human nature is human nature, regardless of which society a person was raised in. Even communal societies have to deal with people being greedy and overstepping their bounds or violating the rules of the community. Greed has been a fundamental human characteristic throughout our entire existence. Hell, even our primate ancestors were greedy. Societies differ in how greed is tolerated or viewed...but it's intrinsic to all of us.
I have to disagree. Just because some people are greedy doesn't mean that culture doesn't affect that greed or that those who are greedy define human nature. Yes, humans can be greedy, but we're also capable of astounding selflessness that's just as much part of human nature as greed is.
Aaron Misner As far as I know, or anyone for that matter, people living in remote areas of the world untouched and uninfluenced by society do not have issues with greed. Greed comes from the competition for resources; the more resources the more you'll seek even if not necessary for survival. Considering how mutually necessary each of these people in these extremely small communities are to each other competition would be disastrous. Point is, survival above greed. They need each other in these hostile environments, and so greed doesn't rear its ugly head. Greed is only a thing because of society. Society influences 99.9% (rough estimate obviously) so it's easy to assume greed will always be a thing, and it realistically is, just not technically.
What are you talking about? With SS you *are* required to gain benefits, assuming you live long enough (well lower than the average lifespan, i'll add). SS has plenty of problems, but calling it a ponzi scheme is ridiculous.
This is the Best Explaination on Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme so far! ... Thank You So Much for the efforts for making this interesting video & for the great tutorial! Stay Safe & Stay Humble! 🌷🌿🕯
I work in the securities litigation industry and have handled several Madoff cases. He ruined lives and there is almost no way his children didn't know what was doing. They had the same high level access to market information and should have known his returns were impossible. They also both held millions in trusts outside of their father's control and in other people's names. If your father could essentially guarantee you one and a half to twice the return why would you invest elsewhere unless you knew his house was built on sand?
Independence? My dad had his own electrical company but when I became an electrician, I went off on my own, because I didn't want to be handed the job or have privileges. Maybe they wanted something similar?
@@MeneTekelUpharsin that doesn't make sense. This exact thing happened to me. I worked with my dad as a kid/teen but I didn't want to inherit/get handed the business so I just joined the electrical union as an apprentice, where you work and learn.
I was pretty much completely clueless about this debacle prior to your video. I mean I've heard of the guy, but I never really knew what he did. I feel well informed after watching your video, but what I would have liked to know is why did he start this ponze scheme in the first place? And also he had to have known that he would be caught eventually, so I'm curious as to what his end plan was in regards to this ordeal. Like, did he think he would pass away before someone caught on? Or did he live his life knowing that he would eventually be caught? If it was the latter then man, I couldn't imagine living my life just waiting for someone to inevitably find out my web of lies. That almost feels like the ultimate punishment in itself.
Well, some stories said he also did legit investment on the side, either to cover his track, laundering his earning, or the ponzi scheme was basically emergency resort to cover bad investment (at first). And his scheme also depend on his charisma and trustability among his peers and finance community in general. That Markopolos guy who suspect the case at first? Became laughingstock among his peers for several years until the scheme unraveled. His scheme also basically exploit his victim by gave the investment return 'just enough'. Higher than most banks, but lower than usual ponzi scheme before his era (10-12% return). The caveat is that, unlike normal investment (who can go up and down, sometimes loss), he promised constant revenue/ profit. (Bank also promise constant revenue, but they also literally backed by Government (Federal Reserve). The caveat is that their rate also being capped, among other things, but most bankers agree it's small price of secure business and not getting lynched by angry mob when economy decided to take a dip)
I have many of the same questions you do. What on earth was his game plan? Perhaps, he didn’t have one because he just felt like he wouldn’t get caught, that he was untouchable, and that he could get away with forever. I’m not sure. However, I definitely think his children knew, and that his wife was aware - if they didn’t know entirely how deep the rabbit hole went - in my opinion, they at the very least knew that something just wasn’t... right.
This is a great video about this subject! I also liked your Enron video. Short and informative. Don't need to know every detail unless you're some kind of accounting scandal historian or whatnot. Cheers!
Mastermind my ass. If you're into illegal business worth millions of dollars you have an exit strategy ready at a moment's notice. As soon as the scheme starts collapsing you empty the accounts, pay a good plastic surgeon and skedaddle off to some tropical island while the rest of the world thinks you're dead. I mean, you don't have to be a criminal mastermind to sketch out a plan like that - but Madoff just... held on, somehow, hoping against hope that things would fix themselves. He deserves respect neither as a human nor as some kind of criminal genius.
I have lived with people who have fooled me for years, but not nearly as many as Bernie as claimed. Probably the kids were told to turn him in and pretend ignorance to save themselves. Unfortunately, it did no good. I want to some more documentaries on the mess. The movie I recommend is The Big Short. As a former accountant, I loved it. I also recommend reading "Ponzi's Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend" by Mitchell Zuckoff. Ponzi was a crazy guy and not at classy. It was amazing that he what he did.
if you are interested in other movies on this topic, there is a 6 part miniseries by ABC from 2016 just called "Madoff" and there is also a documentary in the Frontline Series from PBS (Season 27, Episode 14 titled "The Madoff Affair") that I found pretty interesting.
yeah. he saw the whole thing pretty early on and alerted the SEC. they didn't want to touch it or didn't have the resources. if you're interested in stories about the manipulation of financial markets I can highly recommend the book "Flashboys" by Michael Lewis and a documentary called "The China Hustle" (produced) by Alex Gibney.
The book No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller covers Markopolos's story more in depth. It is a very good read and i encourage everyone to read it.
im Watching from Cameroon. could you ever imagine someone from Cameroon watching your videos. lol. Also the fundraising scam where companies secretly buy up their own products to look good on paper so as to raise more funds. e.g hampton creeks mayo
Gotta revisit Toys R Us. Things are getting as ugly as they can get! Also, screw this guy. Right there in "FPYITAP." 100 internet points if you can translate that.
Not Lego unfortunately. Nor Pokemon TCG product; that stuff got pulled out of the store by the people that actually stock it (outside vendor) the second the store closing signs went up.
Except people know what they are getting into wwhen investing. You could lose your money, but that is the risk you willinngly take. Same cannot be said about ponzi schemes. When you lose your money in a scheme, it is because of the greed of one person, not the market being the market.
Sooo. Pyramid schemes for the next video? I've had numerous friends talk about selling makeup or energy drinks and everytime they talk to me about it, it's sounds almost like a pyramid scheme.
@@kenpenders363 crypto currency itself is not a scam its just highly highly highly unstable stock wise and sours and falls much more then any other stock but it can and does work and dosent have any lies involved they wernt even the first to do it and make big bucks look BEANZ the first cryto currency it was massivly succesful but it failed because the company that made them just let any store that took them generate there own beanz as many as they wanted with a push of a button which led to super infliation which killed the company this isnt to say that crypto currency couldnt be used in a scam just look up lazerchain for that
Excellent recap and explanation of the facts surrounding this scheme. I too wondered these basic details and now I have a better idea of what happened. Amazing this was not discovered by the SEC. Just terrible all around for everyone involved.
I feel the family had some idea that something sketchy was going on, but most likely felt the same way as the general public, which is "How can something be going on this long, make so much money, be trusted by so may, be possibly a scam?" They most likely just thought he had some shady, but legal practices.
darthrib 12 the difference is that a bank is federally garunteed to be able to give back a certain amount of the money. Also, they give low interest rates for that exact reason.
"I don't care for Bernie Madoff."
Whoa, easy there with the strong opinions and colorful language!
I let my anger get the best of me.
Cars Simplified
Brilliant comment.
I loved it.
you know, the more i learn about this bernie madoff guy the more i don’t care for him
Company Man don’t worry sometimes it gets the best of us
You're from the Midwest aren't you
Next your gonna tell me this Nigerian prince who I gave my bank details too is a scam
dont know about that. but i keep getting emails from some manager at the bank of china, about some dead person that left me money. also been getting emails about winning the uk lotto,. didnt know i played. lol
HELLO GENTLEMENS. I AM BARRISTER SWANSKI MORODDO of the main bank here in UGANDA at the PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE. I have been wanting to be of contact with both of the you for your sum of ONE MILLION US DOLLARS (100.000.000USD) by transport of DHL CARRIER SERVICES. Please contact me with no delay on this matter.
cmdraftbrn ccarreon you guys are so lucky this guy, David Holcomb just happened to be looking at the comments on this video. I’m not even lucky enough to find a dollar on the ground.
ccarreon no not him. You gotta trust someone
Trust Americans, not Nigerians. Send me your money.
I've seen hour-long documentaries that weren't able to explain this in the clear and concise way that you just did. Great video!
Exactly!
@@misty379 ttttht
That's because the documentaries went into way more detail. Details that frankly most people can't understand. The clear concise way you speak of is called layman's terms.
yeah i watched a video that explained it way better than this one
@@kosys5338 true
I remember I was OBSESSED with this scandal back in high school. Did so much research I might as well have started my own ponzi scheme.
high school...jesus, i am old af haha
@@hephaestus6365 sexual reproduction is at least 1 billion years old. So you are almost certainly not old as fuck. ;)
The fuck is going on here’
ihswap everything is a scam there’s legal and illegal scamming
@@UltimateBreloom 🤣
I did not wake up today expecting The Emoji Movie to serve as a metaphor for Bernie Madoff.
RIGHT I WASNT SURE WHERE THAT WAS GOING
The movie is as bad as the Madoff scandal
It was as bad the emoji movie because the emoji movie sucked but it made a bunch of money
TwistedGwazi r/I’m14andthisisdeep
The IMF and Federal Reserve bank are two ponzi schemes bigger and worse than Bernie Madoff. Madoff was unfortunately, just doing what all his buddies in power were doing.
He didn't play on people's greed, he worked their egos. By offering a sense of exclusivity to his investors, they felt special. By turning down some profitable, but high profile clients, he stroked their egos even more.
One of the primary draws of limited membership clubs is the ability to say "I'm a member".
Christopher Conard oh you nailed that one psychologically! He laid those honey traps that were just irresistible to egomaniacs. Not that I don’t feel bad for the people whose lives he ruined, but like I’ve always heard: If it sounds too good to be true; it is.
Sound like sales tactics
yeah they were members of the suckers club. I guess most went to their neighborhood bankruptcy trustee's and are members of the bankruptcy club too!
Don't ever underestimate the other guys greed. Robert Logia playing Frank in Scarface, schooling Tony Montana about money.
Exactly, their own greed led them to an extent.
the Madoff "Made Off" joke is so easy that I'm surprised its the name of a real person and not an Ace Attorney character.
That is actually very funny.
There probably is.
i screamed
I use that name association to mark the beginning of Earth entering the superhero/super villain era
Maybe...HE IS!!!
Harry the accountant has the biggest "I told you so" of life.
Everyone was happy until "Harry" came along... Oversmart Harry
Lol I was just thinking that. There'll be no living with Harry after that.
Oh absolutely!!!!!!!
Co Man: “Pretend the year is any year before 2008”
Me: O.K. how about 1799
Co Man: “Nah it’s 2004”
Me: well ok then.
george washington lost his money in the bernie madoff scandal
@@indoor_vaping King George saw through Madoff and was laughing at Washington in his final hours.
Have you ever considered teaching? You perfectly explained a Ponzi scheme in the simplest terms I could imagine. You have a gift dude
Devin Crum don’t you learn from his channel? Yes? Therefore he does teach
@@Kakyyoin He means teaching teens or college kids in class.
Pink why would he? He can reach a much bigger audience over UA-cam.
His channel should be a class
@@cutienerdgirl I mean I think he'd rather do something like UA-cam as he's not forced into talking to specific topics and can be more freeform
Another fabulous video. When returns are consistent, that should be a red flag. Nothing goes up forever. I don't care about him either.
The only thing that goes up for ever is priapism.
Social Security is an ADMITTED Pyramid Scheme. Or, rather, paid by outside sources. (Specifically, tax dollars). And, you should probably add an "Overly", but yup. Returns in investment will always have variability, period, unless something else is going on. So, if anyone ever offers you "Guaranteed" returns and it isn't a Treasury Bond? Run.
Daway Legit oh I know....
Ehhh, Apple cost around $30 in 2000. Now I think its.....?.....$400?
I think Pyramid Schemes are like Communism. It "should work" on paper. If the person utilizing it is A) open and honest that's what he's doing, and B) Not an idiot / greedy. But both of those things never happen.
Imagine Madoff and Elizabeth Holmes teamed up.
Hopefully, they'll soon team up in the same prison cell 😀
@@АлексейГриднев-и7р best answer 😂
Nightmares
The dream team
Killer duo
He sure Made Off with a lot of money
goodbye
didnt expect to see you here
Someone see this person out.
The Narrator *puts on shades* YYYYYEEEEAAAAAYAAAA
Weekend at Bernie's
The great recession:
"the market had some trouble"
Laughs in Australian
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
*the meteor strike that killed the dinosaurs*
'The dinosaurs weren't looking too healthy those days'
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
In the words of Robin Williams: "An embezzler named Madoff...Was the name not a clue? Did he have to be apart of the lawfirm of Dewey Fucyu and How?"
Lol
Hah, that’s pretty funny. RIP
Ryan Tiemann 🤣🤣🤣🤣
🤣 I miss Robin
Ryan Tiemann
Or:
Dewey, Cheatham and Howe
"Whenever there's a government program with your last name followed by Victim Fund" says it all.
I expect to defend myself from many stupid and wicked cops & vigilantes, by me just enforcing my own boundaries. Abusers are abusers, no matter what form they take. If I ever do become a super villain or super antihero, for just protecting myself & mine. Having a "victim" fund named after me, would be an amusing goal. And with all the money the government steals from us through unfair taxes & fees, and how things like infrastructure and other services don't get properly funded. It's odd they would need to set up a fund. They can't pocket less money, and pay for things themselves?
Never trust anyone who is described as someone you can trust. Especially when money is involved.
No, just don't trust them easily or quickly
nah u can trust me tho
I wouldn't be at all surprised if his family really didn't know about it. The FIRST people a conman usually fools is those closest to him.
Derek Smallshorts
I agree with your assessment.
Agree. In fact it's easier because family have no objectivity
armchair quarterbacking ... his wife was his bookkeeper... please . one son committed suicide..
would be interesting to get an actual list of those who did kno and were paid off... 💩
The South Sea Company comes to mind as an earlier ponzi scheme, (although predating the term). Extra Credits has a nice series on it.
My apologies if someone else brought it up already, (I honestly got tired of sifting through the comments to try and check).
Thank you for this and other informative vids!
Totally agree
but the South Sea Company was made to help England's debt, this scandal was made because some guy was greedy (also, have you ever heard of F4, it helps when trying to locate something in a lot of text).
In the times of Charles Ponzi (before it was renamed after him), the scheme was called: "robbing Peter to pay Paul scheme".
Madoff passed away today.
Crazy.
It seems odd to me how no one listened to the one person who knew what was going on. Reminds me of the ancient Greek myth of Cassandra who was given the gift of prophecy (to see into the future), but it was actually a curse which whenever she foretold the future no one would believe her.
Anyways, nice video, keep it up.
TheAceOffRoad I wonder how would the story end if people believed on cassandra, would it became a happy end and a short one too?
TheAceOffRoad what if all the victims knew about the scheme but just go on with because everyone wants the benefit but when it falls no one wants to be apart of it. sorry for my bad English. reminds me of The movie (money monster )the villain said that everyone will say nothing if the scheme makes more money for them.
Muammar Gibran well, if people believed Cassandra, the city of Troy could have been able to defend itself, and if Agamemnon had survived the war and gotten home with Cassandra as a prize, his wife, Clytemnestra wouldn’t have been able to kill him
He was a relative nobody with a tiny portfolio armed with a (very true!) hunch. He also trusted absolutely no one. Compare this to multimillionaire investors who all got the money they wanted from Madoff. Fun fact: the SEC finally sent an investigator to Madoff after enough begging. And Madoff conned the SEC investigator. The investigator wrote that Madoff was either innocent or the world's greatest liar. And the case was dropped.
Michael Burry is about to be right again.
Please do a series on this
Washington DC is a good place to look
Company Man - I hear some people asking for a face reveal. Unless you're really photogenic, enjoy speaking on camera, or just really, really want to do it, I would suggest against it. I don't understand subscriber's fascination with seeing what a UA-camr looks like (well I get it, it's like celebrity ogling) but still...I personally enjoy it when UA-camrs remain anonymous. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting you to do livestreams with face cam, hangouts, and all kinds of other stupid crap. And once it's out there, there's no getting it back. I love the format of your show as is. I hope you keep it. No fuss, no muss. Just great content. Informative. Well presented, good editing, and entertaining. Clear and focused narration. I couldn't ask for more.
Aaron Misner ++
Just discovered your channel and am learning a lot! Thank you for the simple and concise way you explained this debacle, Enron, and Lehman Bros. I did not follow any of these scandals in the news when they took place but always felt that I should know about them. Appreciate you doing the research legwork. I very definitely appreciate your descriptions of the complete histories of businesses in your other videos, going back to the founders a hundred or more years ago. Also, I am entertained by the end music in your reviews of retail stores. It reminds me strongly of the annoyingly loud "shopping music" I must listen to when shopping certain places. Yes, Kohl's, I'm looking at you. Company Man, keep up the great work!
So when are we going to get the Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos breakdown?
to be fair, there's plenty of those online
*nobody* looks like "a guy i can trust."
trust no one not even yourself
You can trust me. I got you bruh.
kodiak wild trust no one ,keep a dagger behind your back ,keep your money , betray the master.
kodiak wild not even in the mirror?
Tom Hanks? I don't know if I should trust him, but he comes across as someone I could.
Would you ever do a full video about the original Ponzi scheme
Danny Cheetham this would be great
Patrick Boyle has a nice video on it.
ironically he sounds everything a insurance company is.
Agree
Even a bank or bitcoin exchange for that matter. Look at the Greece bank when everyone went to get their money out at once. There’s no backed gold standard anymore. Money is just a promise to pay and only has value because people think it does.
An even bigger Ponzi scheme is social security. People getting paid with what you're investing now hoping you get a return later on.
@@mikecarnivale7304 i don't think it's bigger that one is massive 20 billion & all goes to one guy ..how u beat that?
@@azzajohnson2123 this is the exact reason why the gold standard was removed
Madoff wasn't even close to being the only person to do this or continue to do this...He simply was the only one caught and crucified to cover up the rest of the crooks
Quote of the century right here.
And biggest
His sons dropped the dime on him - LMAO!!!
I feel like it was almost certainly just orchestrated to reduce the risk of the kids getting jail time too.
Why would Mark commit suicide though? Sure things gotta be tough on him but man, if he was truly innocent..... he would be able to tell himself only he and the lord knows that and that would be enough to keep going and atone for his father's crimes.
Amway also has a Ponzi scheme going on. They own the Orlando Magic. I went to a meeting from an invite by a guy I made small talk about a job. He said it was marketing. But basically it was a scheme to make you open up an online website to link people to stores like nike and other big brand names they threw out to impress people in the room. I knew it was super shady when they said you had to make a deposit of over 100 dollars so they could help you get started. Watching the Last Week Tonight segment on Pyramid Schemes and attending this meeting felt like Deja Vu, they were using so many similar tactics to get you into thinking you could be your own business and get other to work for you by being a leader. I said bye and never met that guy again.
Lived in Grand Rapids for a decade (Amway is headquartered in the area.) I can't tell you how many times I came across peers wrapped up in direct marketing.
Just like the Orlando Magic, screwing its fanbase, passing on potential stars by drafting busts, trading draft pics for garbage, and not developing+holding unto stars like Shaq and Tmac. One of the worst Nba franchises of all time.
Amway and other "multi-levelmarketing" schemes are just "legal enough" to not be illegal.
The only reason it's legal is because you technically are "working" for the money. You still have to sign up the people below you to take a piece of their money and if it doesn't work, that $100 you spent still gets you the "starter pack" of bullshit products so it's consider as if all you did was buy some personal products for yourself.
That's an mlm.. It's one legal step away from a ponzi scheme
Your Icon makes it look like you’re a shadowy figure who worked undercover to reveal the truth about Madoff
And you’re still working undercover as an insider at all these other companies even now.
Omg I see it now! #conspiracytheory
US Lmao.
lol true^^
US yeah
You should look into the whole BITCONNEEEEEEECT thing going on
I was going to post BITCONNECT if no one said it.
I honesty think it's worth looking into it.
People are trying to abuse bitcoin a lot. I've seen investment ads in Japanese youtube
Bitcoin is more pump and dump rather than Ponzi Scheme as is often being said. Pump and dump is still fraud and something that has been done numerous times with other kinds of investments (primarily stocks and bonds but not exclusively in them too).
There are definitely Ponzi schemes being done with Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as well, particularly with the exchanges (where you need to be incredibly cautious when you trade virtual currency for real currency in either direction). I completely agree it is something that by itself deserves an episode on this channel.... but it is also incredibly complex and needs somebody who knows cryptocurrencies to get involved to explain the whole situation.
In the wise words of Carlos,
"NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO"
I think that is worth looking most into is not bitconnect itself, but rather the culture around bitcoin in the mainstream, with Bitconnect being the biggest example at the moment.
I think it is crazy to see the way they are trying to market it to the mainstream, and pretty much scamming people. I am currently living in Japan, and it is not rare to see UA-cam ads about bitcoin services, seeing billboards in Tokyo talking about it and the alike.
Wonderful, how you made such a complicated topic easy to grasp + I loved the end - Thank you for another wonderful video
Don’t ever change your intro. It’s a bop lol.
I believe there were not many "innocent" investors. For Bernie to be earning these 10-12% return on their money most had assumed he was insider trading which they were all cool with.
10%-12% is very much possible. Just look at any S&P 500 ETF
Bikes & Drones
Great point.
S&P 500 has returned an average of 10% over nearly any 10 year period. One year it returns 20% and the next it returns 5%, or in the case of 2008 it dropped 40%. Madoff was promising 12% every single year and delivered like clockwork. Big difference. I recommend an S&P500 index fund because of the long term averages. No financial adviser or fund owner who is legit will promise a particular return on investment every year. If they do, run away.
Chris Geld umm 12 percent is not likely or common and there is not one S&P etf that has consistently done 1 percent per month.l is closer to 13 percent annually btw
13 percent over any length of time is amazing.
Matthew Familia lol in madoffs day? How old are you? How long have you been investing? Today is in madoffs day. Either way back then and today nothing has changed it was just as hard back then as it is today to find a fund consistently providing 13 percent. You can’t find any.
Your videos are fantastic, and SO important! They should be a part of every college and high school curriculum!!!
So it's basically bitconnect??
Thumbs up bros
Bob Sled yes bitconnect is a pyramid scheme
Bob Sled Bitconnnneeeeeeeeeeeccccct
wasu wasu wasu wasuppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
Bob S just cause money was stolen dosrnt make it the same
hey hey heeeeeeeyyyyy
The SEC's complicit ignorance and lack of due diligence was crazy criminal! There's another story there for you, company man! Thanks for the video
They investigated him and asked him if he was doing anything wrong and he said no. They then asked him "Are these the droids we are looking for?" He waved his hand and said "These are not the droids you are looking for."
Every time I hear "Ponzi Scheme" I think about Happy Days and high school hi-jinks.
We love you Mike!
Madeoff sure berned a lot of people.
I cant wait till you hit a million and I can say I was here around 10k
That's exactly what Bernie's second investor said. ;-)
David Murphy 😭😭😭
It happened!! Nearly 2 mil now
A Ponzi Scheme should be renamed the Madoff Scheme, he went above and beyond; how in the heck did he think it would end?
He didn't invent the scheme
@@bronzebuilder2115neither did Ponzi, he learned about the scheme from a fraudulent bank he worked at
“Hopefully there’s not something bigger than this going on right now”
… Sam Bankman-Fried
That feeling when Company Man uploads a video and you're not around WiFi... and you only have 400 megabytes of high-speed data left... and you still have 3 weeks before your next bill... and you're pissing everybody off with run-on sentences.
watch it on 144p
Two things that you have to remember about the whole saga here:
1. Basic human nature is greedy - that is to say, everyone wants to get the most they can for the least amount. It's no wonder, then, that this scheme appealed to so many people. Who was going to pass up potential profits like this?
2. Basic blind faith in people and/or institutions. Note how many people are looking to the Justice Department to make them whole - even to the point of a victims fund having been established. It was easy to invest in the scam if you believe that there was always going to be somebody, somewhere who was going to backstop your investment and keep you from having to suffer from a bad decision.
As far as whether there is something similar currently going on?
Look no farther than anything out there that involves cryptocurrency in any manner shape or form.
Crowdfunding - both reward and equity - also fits the bill nicely.
Ash Kitt -- Uhh...I have to disagree. Human nature is human nature, regardless of which society a person was raised in. Even communal societies have to deal with people being greedy and overstepping their bounds or violating the rules of the community. Greed has been a fundamental human characteristic throughout our entire existence. Hell, even our primate ancestors were greedy. Societies differ in how greed is tolerated or viewed...but it's intrinsic to all of us.
I have to disagree. Just because some people are greedy doesn't mean that culture doesn't affect that greed or that those who are greedy define human nature.
Yes, humans can be greedy, but we're also capable of astounding selflessness that's just as much part of human nature as greed is.
Agree.
Aaron Misner As far as I know, or anyone for that matter, people living in remote areas of the world untouched and uninfluenced by society do not have issues with greed. Greed comes from the competition for resources; the more resources the more you'll seek even if not necessary for survival. Considering how mutually necessary each of these people in these extremely small communities are to each other competition would be disastrous.
Point is, survival above greed. They need each other in these hostile environments, and so greed doesn't rear its ugly head. Greed is only a thing because of society. Society influences 99.9% (rough estimate obviously) so it's easy to assume greed will always be a thing, and it realistically is, just not technically.
What are you talking about? With SS you *are* required to gain benefits, assuming you live long enough (well lower than the average lifespan, i'll add). SS has plenty of problems, but calling it a ponzi scheme is ridiculous.
Proverbs 1:19: "So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. It takes away the life of its owners."
Hieronymus di Colonna i
Use freaking basic wisdom moral and logic.
No need for books.
well duh
The dark knight Marcopolos has risen again yesterday......
This is the Best Explaination on Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme so far! ... Thank You So Much for the efforts for making this interesting video & for the great tutorial! Stay Safe & Stay Humble! 🌷🌿🕯
I work in the securities litigation industry and have handled several Madoff cases. He ruined lives and there is almost no way his children didn't know what was doing. They had the same high level access to market information and should have known his returns were impossible. They also both held millions in trusts outside of their father's control and in other people's names. If your father could essentially guarantee you one and a half to twice the return why would you invest elsewhere unless you knew his house was built on sand?
Risk management but yeh it’s fishy
Independence? My dad had his own electrical company but when I became an electrician, I went off on my own, because I didn't want to be handed the job or have privileges. Maybe they wanted something similar?
@@TheCrazierz That would be like you starting a electrical company and not knowing what electricity is
@@MeneTekelUpharsin that doesn't make sense. This exact thing happened to me. I worked with my dad as a kid/teen but I didn't want to inherit/get handed the business so I just joined the electrical union as an apprentice, where you work and learn.
@@MeneTekelUpharsin this analogy makes no sense.
Good information thanks
I was pretty much completely clueless about this debacle prior to your video. I mean I've heard of the guy, but I never really knew what he did. I feel well informed after watching your video, but what I would have liked to know is why did he start this ponze scheme in the first place? And also he had to have known that he would be caught eventually, so I'm curious as to what his end plan was in regards to this ordeal. Like, did he think he would pass away before someone caught on? Or did he live his life knowing that he would eventually be caught? If it was the latter then man, I couldn't imagine living my life just waiting for someone to inevitably find out my web of lies. That almost feels like the ultimate punishment in itself.
Well, some stories said he also did legit investment on the side, either to cover his track, laundering his earning, or the ponzi scheme was basically emergency resort to cover bad investment (at first). And his scheme also depend on his charisma and trustability among his peers and finance community in general. That Markopolos guy who suspect the case at first? Became laughingstock among his peers for several years until the scheme unraveled.
His scheme also basically exploit his victim by gave the investment return 'just enough'. Higher than most banks, but lower than usual ponzi scheme before his era (10-12% return). The caveat is that, unlike normal investment (who can go up and down, sometimes loss), he promised constant revenue/ profit.
(Bank also promise constant revenue, but they also literally backed by Government (Federal Reserve). The caveat is that their rate also being capped, among other things, but most bankers agree it's small price of secure business and not getting lynched by angry mob when economy decided to take a dip)
I have many of the same questions you do. What on earth was his game plan? Perhaps, he didn’t have one because he just felt like he wouldn’t get caught, that he was untouchable, and that he could get away with forever. I’m not sure. However, I definitely think his children knew, and that his wife was aware - if they didn’t know entirely how deep the rabbit hole went - in my opinion, they at the very least knew that something just wasn’t... right.
This is a great video about this subject! I also liked your Enron video. Short and informative. Don't need to know every detail unless you're some kind of accounting scandal historian or whatnot. Cheers!
This is the first video i watched from your channel and i loved it. I like your sarcastic tone and perfect pinch of humour. Thanks man.
Personally, I think the man's a genius. A garbage human, yes, but a fucking mastermind.
Mastermind my ass. If you're into illegal business worth millions of dollars you have an exit strategy ready at a moment's notice. As soon as the scheme starts collapsing you empty the accounts, pay a good plastic surgeon and skedaddle off to some tropical island while the rest of the world thinks you're dead. I mean, you don't have to be a criminal mastermind to sketch out a plan like that - but Madoff just... held on, somehow, hoping against hope that things would fix themselves. He deserves respect neither as a human nor as some kind of criminal genius.
I have lived with people who have fooled me for years, but not nearly as many as Bernie as claimed. Probably the kids were told to turn him in and pretend ignorance to save themselves. Unfortunately, it did no good. I want to some more documentaries on the mess. The movie I recommend is The Big Short. As a former accountant, I loved it.
I also recommend reading "Ponzi's Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend" by Mitchell Zuckoff. Ponzi was a crazy guy and not at classy. It was amazing that he what he did.
Harry Markapolis' book is good too. Plus being an accountant will probably make it easier to understand.
Thanks for the recommendation. I put it on the top of my queue.
if you are interested in other movies on this topic, there is a 6 part miniseries by ABC from 2016 just called "Madoff" and there is also a documentary in the Frontline Series from PBS (Season 27, Episode 14 titled "The Madoff Affair") that I found pretty interesting.
Thanks. I will check them out. I just finished reading, "No One Would Listen" by Harry Markopolos. It was a scary book.
yeah. he saw the whole thing pretty early on and alerted the SEC. they didn't want to touch it or didn't have the resources. if you're interested in stories about the manipulation of financial markets I can highly recommend the book "Flashboys" by Michael Lewis and a documentary called "The China Hustle" (produced) by Alex Gibney.
The book No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller covers Markopolos's story more in depth. It is a very good read and i encourage everyone to read it.
I think the family had to have suspected something wasn’t right, but they weren’t about to disrupt the money train.
"I guess Bernie Madoff with your money."
It’s pretty cool when someone has a fitting last name like that. Reminds me of the poker player Chris Moneymaker
Or Usain Bolt.
im Watching from Cameroon. could you ever imagine someone from Cameroon watching your videos. lol.
Also the fundraising scam where companies secretly buy up their own products to look good on paper so as to raise more funds. e.g hampton creeks mayo
Madoff looks like George Washington, except unlike Washington, he can tell a lie.
Tiffany Twisted you’re dumb af
and talking of scams; can you do one about Theranos?
great job on ALL you videos!!!
No Weekend at Bernie's jokes?
Okay, here's a new one:
Vince McMahon voice: Even my family bought it!
I don't get it
kinda hard to joke about something that ended with actual suicides.
Gotta revisit Toys R Us. Things are getting as ugly as they can get!
Also, screw this guy. Right there in "FPYITAP." 100 internet points if you can translate that.
Number Six He made a community post about it, but he might do an update video.
Number Six they're not getting that ugly. It sucks that a bunch of people will be out of work, but nerf guns and lego at liquidation prices, yo.
Not Lego unfortunately. Nor Pokemon TCG product; that stuff got pulled out of the store by the people that actually stock it (outside vendor) the second the store closing signs went up.
Who’s watching this after learning Bernie died.
I been searching to know more about the scam. I landed in right place. Clearly understood. I even subscribed you
He made some people good money while the whole scheme was working, others lost it all. Sounds just like....... investing in the stockmarket. Hmmmmmm
Except people know what they are getting into wwhen investing. You could lose your money, but that is the risk you willinngly take. Same cannot be said about ponzi schemes. When you lose your money in a scheme, it is because of the greed of one person, not the market being the market.
@@olivercharles2930 keep telling yourself that, sugartits.
Sooo. Pyramid schemes for the next video? I've had numerous friends talk about selling makeup or energy drinks and everytime they talk to me about it, it's sounds almost like a pyramid scheme.
It is, run away my friend.
Sounds like you're talking about Amway
"Hopefully there isnt another big scam going on" me in my head: *BITCOINEEEEYYYYYYYY*
You just don't understand the blockchain , if you did you'd know it's legit
@@jacobkudrowich sounds like someone getting scammed by bitcoin
@@kenpenders363 no I haven't invested in Bitcoin or any crypto. I just believe it is here to stay as a currency as will keep growing as times change
@@jacobkudrowich nigga you know what the block chain is and refer to it as crypto you obviously have
@@kenpenders363 crypto currency itself is not a scam its just highly highly highly unstable stock wise and sours and falls much more then any other stock but it can and does work and dosent have any lies involved they wernt even the first to do it and make big bucks look BEANZ the first cryto currency it was massivly succesful but it failed because the company that made them just let any store that took them generate there own beanz as many as they wanted with a push of a button which led to super infliation which killed the company this isnt to say that crypto currency couldnt be used in a scam just look up lazerchain for that
That was so sad!!! I feel so bad for the investors and his sons.
Excellent recap and explanation of the facts surrounding this scheme. I too wondered these basic details and now I have a better idea of what happened. Amazing this was not discovered by the SEC. Just terrible all around for everyone involved.
The way you explain things is perfect.
Would like Company Man do video on how the Kennedys got their money. Talk about ponzi scheme!
I feel the family had some idea that something sketchy was going on, but most likely felt the same way as the general public, which is "How can something be going on this long, make so much money, be trusted by so may, be possibly a scam?" They most likely just thought he had some shady, but legal practices.
Who else is back here because Bernie just died?
Yes
RIP
Nice work Company Man
Your explanations are structured such that I am always interested, you have neat hooks for drawing attention back in.
talk about the lottery business. (inverse Robinhood).
When are you going to make a video about Winn-Dixie's bankruptcy it's kind of the same as Publix please give me a shout out thanks
It's actually a Fonzie scheme. "Hey mr. C! I got all your money!!" Heyyyy!!
Thank you for making this video, great overview!
So in other words he was operating like a bank?
darthrib 12 the difference is that a bank is federally garunteed to be able to give back a certain amount of the money. Also, they give low interest rates for that exact reason.
@@Xandropolis no lol, they opperate very differently from a bank. Banks actually invest your money and make a lot off of it.
A bank owned by the mob.
Also a bank actually invests your money
Not even close.
I would NEVER turn my father in. Unless he wanted me too so I could avoid something
There innocent. Lol
Snitch kids
I would turn my father in because he hurt so many innocent people.
*GE brought me here*
Great job on putting this together. Was educational about Bernie Made Off. Thanks for your hard work
thank you for this great presentation!
I can make it even simpler: Bernie Madoff was running a Social Security program, but without government involvement.
Stupid comparison. Running a ponzi scheme helps no one. The social security program and the money that goes into it helps everyone.
“It went to money heaven”
10:15 I was literally just about to comment that exact sentence.
@ 3:53 there is somthing big like this that did happen, a little start up company called Theranos. You should do a video on them.
Your video is good. Thank you.
Who’s here after he died?
Hello!
me
You usually try to be impartial when it comes to things like this. Right off the bat you state your opinion of this guy. This guy must be really bad.
Great video man. Can take a look at CAPCOM and KONAMI? Thanks!
Hey Company Man, my social problems professor showed a clip of this video in our class! Just thought you’d find that interesting.
I find that very interesting. Thanks for telling me.
"hopefully there's not (a bigger ponzi scheme) than this happening right now"
*Crypto exists
‘Great point.
Company man: Bernie made the biggest Ponzi scheme ever
One coin: hold my beer
K. If you say so
Two different things.