FRONTLINE | The Madoff Affair | PBS

http://www.pbs.org/frontline/madoff/ Through exclusive television interviews with those closest to Madoff's operation, FRONTLINE unravels the story behind the world's biggest Ponzi scheme in "The Madoff Affair," airing Tuesday, May 12 at 9 pm on PBS (check local listings).

In the mid-1960s, Bernard Madoff tapped money from Jewish businessmen at exclusive country clubs with the promise of steady guaranteed returns on their investments. He then set his sights on Europe and Latin America, brokering deals with powerful hedge fund managers and feeder funds from Buenos Aires to Geneva. Billions of dollars were channeled to Madoff's investment firm, and his feeders became fabulously wealthy. The competition wondered how the man could produce such steady returns in good times and bad. There were allegations that Madoff was "front-running" or operating a Ponzi scheme, which the SEC investigated several times over the last two decades. But Madoff remained untouched until Dec. 11, 2008, when he admitted it was all "one big lie." FRONTLINE producers Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria unravel the story behind the world's first truly global Ponzi scheme—a deception that lasted longer, reached wider and cut deeper than any other business scandal in history.

Watch "The Madoff Affair" on air and online beginning Tuesday, May 12 on PBS (check local listings) and at http://www.pbs.org/frontline/madoff/

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• pbs
• frontline
• documentary
• economy
• madoff
• SEC
• wall street
• investing
• business
• ponzi

[captcaveman4201]

Can we madoff a bonus and make him secretary of the treasury now? you might laugh at the idea of that.. But i say really? This guy knows exactlty how the system works. And make no mistake the SEC knew exactly what was going on. Why didnt they stop it? Because the simple truth is that they dont want people to know the mechanism of how he did it to be known. Because it is exactly what the government does on a larger scale. the steady flow of TAX money.u cant look at their books. they tell u the #s

[garyowen4ever]

an outstandiing piece of work,,,,,,,,FRONTLINE MAKES THE CNBC SPECIALS look like amateur hour,,,,put together by college kids or grad school interns.....which is in fact the truth. cnbc is such a joke.

[themadfatman2]

Too bad the peoples that lost their money didn't go after madoff children for their part in the scam.

[EJR914]

Actually, the world's largest Ponzi scheme is run by the U.S. Government. Its called Social Security. They pay off old debts with new money, while the money is running out for those that pay in every pay period. Yet the government's scheme is legal, while Madoff's is not.

[locochepo]

this is good to know!