Skepticblog

The timing is perfect to compare Bernie Madoff, the investment swindler, to Dr. Seuss’ Grinch. However, in this case, since the majority of Mr. Madoff’s clients were Jewish it’s not Christmas that was stolen, but Hanukkah.

I am fascinated by the story of Madoff and the billions of dollars he managed to steal from trusting individuals and organizations. $50 billion is such a large number, that the extent of his manipulations is truly mind-boggling. The list of those affected keeps growing.

Just today, I read a note from ‘The Scientist‘ Associate Editor, Elie Dolgin:

Some of the big losers include New York’s Yeshiva University, home to the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, which lost at least $100 million according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, which invested funds raised from donations in Madoff’s securities firm and now estimates its losses at around 25 million shekels ($6.7 million), according to Ha’aretz. Several other charitable organizations that regularly donated to medical research, such as Steven Spielberg’s Wunderkinder Foundation, have also been hit hard, the Jewish Journal reported.

It’s not the get-rich-quick types who fell for Madoff’s scheme. He was able to trick veteran investors and cautious organizations, those who are normally skeptical of deals that seem too good to be true, into giving him their money. How did he do it? Continue reading…

With apologies to Frankie Goes to Hollywood. And maybe Confucius.

Richard Wiseman at TAM 5

Richard Wiseman is a professor of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK. He is many things, in fact: a friend, a trickster, and, of course, my evil twin. He also runs the website Quirkology, where he dissects, well, quirks; weird things people do, think, and believe. He wrote a whole book on it called, duh, Quirkology.

Continue reading…