Even Madoff Couldn't Win Ben Stein's Money

Bernard Madoff (left) and Ben Stein

In a tender column for the Times, one-time Nixon speech writer and Wonder Years star Ben Stein tells of how the "wealth management division" of an investment bank came to his Beverly Hills home two years ago trying to get him to invest with "a genius (who) never lost money." That genius, of course, was Bernard Madoff. What the bank didn't realize of course was that while Madoff may very well have been a genius, Ben Stein is a supergenius and turned down the offer.

As he recounts:

They assured me that this genius had found a way to spot market inefficiencies and, indeed, to make money off a perfect hedge. I thanked them for their time and promptly looked up Bernard Madoff online. Nothing I saw was even a bit convincing that he had made a breakthrough in financial theory...I politely passed and went on my way, finding my own inventive ways to lose money on a colossal scale during these last 15 months...

Stein then goes on to point out the human flaw of people always ignoring what time has taught them and believing that there is a new way to "beat" the market. And then things start to feel a little fuzzy when he concludes by telling us that we are still the same good or bad person whether we lost a boat full of money or not.

As for Madoff, he remains under house arrest in his East 64th Street penthouse. He may be contemplating an insanity defense as angry investors hope to recover some of their money. A Swiss newspaper claims the Credit Suisse lost about $1 billion with Madoff, but a company spokesman said, "Credit Suisse did not actively recommend or sell products invested with Bernard Madoff. Furthermore, none of the funds of hedge funds offered by Credit Suisse contained holdings in Madoff funds." And a friend of Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, who apparently killed himself over his angst at losing $1.4 billion, said of Madoff, "Bernie should rot with the rats."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Billy Parker in News on December 28, 2008 6:28 PM

Comments [rss]

nycandre

If it is a sure thing, then why would he (Madoff) need investors? He could make all the money by and for himself. You don't have to be a genius to figure this out. Or maybe *i* am really a genius.

jt10000

Here's how smart Ben Stein is:

youtube video with Ben Stein being so very wrong starting at about 3:00 in

Oh yeah, and he believes in "intelligent design." So smart.

nog

A genius has found out that you have just won the Nigerian lottery! To claim your prize, please send your entire savings.

nog

A genius has found out that you have just won the Nigerian lottery! To claim your prize, please send your entire savings.

RedWhiteandBrooklyn

"Ben Stein is a supergenius"

If he's so smart, why did he so vocally buy into George W.s failed domestic & foreign policies? Stein has been one of the more vicious of the poison pen Republicans the past few years, skewering Bush's critics as too blinded by partisanship to see the wisdom of W and his crew of cleptocrats.

Supergenius should be made of brighter stuff.

RevWaldo

That - and the fact that B.S. has been a vocal proponent of intelligent design. If the market crash, Madoff and Stein demonstrate anything, it's that no one is smart about everything.