Our guest this week is Richard Behar, an award-winning investigative reporter who spent 15 years chronicling the life of Bernie Madoff, the mastermind behind the largest Ponzi scheme in history.

Behar is the author of the newly released blockbuster book Madoff: The Final Word.

Before Madoff died in prison, Behar and Madoff had more than 50 phone conversations, exchanged more than 300 emails, and met face-to-face three times.

When Madoff was arrested in December 2008, his decades-long scam unraveled, revealing approximately $68 billion in purported assets across nearly 5,000 client accounts. In stark contrast, Madoff had less than $300 million, having swindled countless victims, including banks, charities, colleges, pension funds, and notable individuals such as Steven Spielberg, Sandy Koufax, Kevin Bacon, and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel.

On this week’ episode, Behar shares how Madoff sustained his scam for decades, the many people who facilitated his fraud, why his investors were so gullible, and what steps everyone should take to avoid falling victim to swindlers.

As an exclusive bonus, listeners will hear two short private phone conversations between Behar and Madoff, recorded during Madoff’s incarceration at a federal prison in Butner, North Carolina.

Behar, honored as one of the top 100 business journalists of the 20th century, has received more than 20 major journalism awards. He previously worked on the staff of Forbes, Time, and Fortune. He also contributed reporting to CNN, PBS, and the BBC.

If you believe you could never be tricked like thousands of Madoff’s trusting investors were, you need to listen closely to this week’s episode.

Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son duo of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart.

Photo: Richard Behar, Madoff: The Final Word Posted: July 22, 2024 Monday Morning Run Time: 1:10:31 Episode: 13.06

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