If you know about Bernie Madoff who made headlines in 2008 because of his arrest, do you know what civil crime he did? An investment manager, brokerage and investment manager who cheated thousands of investors over the span of 20 years through Ponzi Schemes of up to 65 billion USD. This is the biggest financial fraud in the world of financial in US history.
Ponzi schemes are a fake investment mode, in which the profits made by investors come from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors. It's not money from the profits earned by the individuals or organizations that run this business, it's just the money game. Bernie Madoff cheated many people, from big investors to retirees who pledged their money to his own company because they were tempted by the benefits offered and also because of the big name of a Bernie Madoff.
The Wizard of Lies, is a biographical, criminal drama film. The HBO Original film directed by Barry Levinson and premiered on May 20, 2017. The script was written by Sam Levinson and John Burnham Schwartz and Samuel Baum. Starring Robert De Niro (Bernie Madoff), Michelle Pfeiffer (Ruth Madoff), Bernie's wife, Alessandro Nivola (Mark Madoff) Bernie's first son, Nathan Darrow (Andrew Madoff), Bernie's youngest son. The story is based on the 2011 New York Times best-selling non-fiction book, entitled "The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust" written by Diana B. Henriques. And Diana also plays a role in this HBO film as a writer who escorts Bernie's case from the beginning until he is in prison according to his story in the real world.
Rating IMDb 6.8/10
Synopsis
Bernie began to be confused when many investors withdrew their funds in the midst of the 2008 USA economic chaos. Every month, he always lacks funds to cover any funds that investors want to withdraw. Surprisingly, when the price of all shares fell in a situation of the US monetary crisis, Bernie's company shares actually increased significantly. This is the suspicion of many people.
In the midst of a crisis situation, the life of Bernie and his family, which are wallowing in luxury, continues to run, but in truth, his mind never sleeps. He began looking for ways to raise funds to cover the funds withdrawn by his employees by offering attractive investments to his wealthy friends with huge returns. Some people were interested but some people became suspicious of Bernie's company and even intended to withdraw all the funds.
At one point in the office Bernie Madoff invited his sons and his brother to talk about how he would distribute all the bonuses and benefits to his employees. This became the question of the children "for what, that it is not necessary at this time, considering the condition of the company is still good." Bernie remains determined to share it all. Bernie then took the two children to meet their mother at home and discuss something. They go in a downstairs book room. He talked about the current situation in which the company was actually not in a good condition, that all the investments were fictitious, financial reports were fictitious, etc. That for over 20 years he has been running a Ponzi scheme to defraud investors, he and Frank managed it all from the 17th floor where no one knew including his family. Of course it became a great anger for his sons as well as his wife. Bernie said that he would turn himself in to the police. In the morning Bernie was picked up by the FBI and taken for interrogation.
The news about Bernie's fraud was getting more widespread. Everyone who has lost their money is angry, and demands their money to come back. Of course it is not an easy thing to do. Even Bernie's wife and children were affected, and the media terror persisted.
Bernie was finally accepted under bail even without the signatures of his two children, before finally serving a trial. Before the judge he admitted all criminal charges and was sentenced to 150 years. Even after Bernie was imprisoned, his family continued to experience social sanctions from society, hatred, terror, etc. Bernie's wife moves to a small town to live at her sister's house, Bernie's children are being sued by several investors for controlling funds that are suspected of being held. Even Mark had to be separated from his wife, including the psychological terror he experienced. Mark finally committed suicide by hanging himself. Bernie's wife began to hate Bernie and asked him not to call her back and will never visited him again in jail. Andrew still lives his life and is often invited to seminars to tell stories about the crimes his father committed and the downturn that his family received as a result of it all, until one interview session when an audience asked, "is Andrew going to visit his father someday. and forgive him? "Andrew said that since his father revealed the crime he had committed, he had considered his father dead. Until finally the heavy psychological burden made him suffer from cancer. Finally Andrew also died of cancer. At the end of the film, a scene where Bernie tries to contact him is seen. He called His wife Ruth many times over phone lines but always goes on voicemail.
What lessons can be learned from the story of this Bernie Madoff film?
In investing, it is necessary to understand the background behind the investment. Don't just fall for the big profits promised. Until now, the ponzi scheme has claimed many victims, although it has been repeated but always packed in different business frames. The Ponzi scheme itself is a 'fake' investment, because investors never really make a profit because the business owners have eaten their capital and distributed it as a nominal profit for other investors. In the film The wizard of lies, most of the customers are tempted by the large returns that are offered without knowing the physical business. And also the capital believes in the big name of a Bernie Madoff. However, it should be acknowledged that Bernie Madoff is also very good at convincing his investors so that these investors believe in pouring out any amount of funds Bernie offers. I remember one scene where he told me when he was young, that his best job was as a lifeguard, even though it could not be paid with money. It can be concluded in an era that is completely open and information can be accessed easily, anytime, anywhere, so it is important for us to really be literate about investing before joining any investment. Because it's our money, our hard work to get it, which we must protect. Do you guys have a film reference about an interesting investment?.[]
Trailer
