Gstaad
Last week I ventured down to Geneva for a meeting with my banker, a gentleman of the old school who did not get carried away by Bernie Madoff’s siren songs. To the contrary, he went as far as Odysseus, tied himself to his desk and plugged up the ears of his underlings. Metaphorically, that is. He had some interesting things to say. The mega-crook and fraudster never met suckers in person, except for those — mostly Jewish — friends of his in Palm Beach and in the Big Bagel. Europeans and Latin Americans were handled by his feeder fund managers, around 150 known ones, and, according to my banker, perhaps as many as 200 more unknown ones. That’s around 300 feeder funds working in secret to provide funds for a man whose name is already an adjective.
A feeder fund manager would approach a bank or a rich individual, announce how regretful it was that the Madoff fund was closed, but drop hints that, if an opening came up, the ‘mark’ could become a member of the ‘club’. The con was on, and sure enough the ‘mark’ would soon get another visit and hear the good news that finally they could join the club. In my banker’s case — his name shall remain a secret — he was told that, in view of the fact his bank is as prominent as it is, $500 million would be a minimum investment. My banker friend had contemplated investing perhaps 20 million for a look-see but, after the suggestion of 500 million big ones, told them thanks but no thanks. A wise and prudent man.
When the ‘mark’ or ‘marks’ would ask for details, the answer was automatic: ‘We cannot reveal anything of Bernie’s moves or investments because they might be leaked, and all of Wall Street will follow suit.’
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