Mark Madoff

Mark David Madoff ( MAY-doff; March 11, 1964 – December 11, 2010) was an American financier who alongside his brother was a contributor in exposing the multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme committed by his father, Bernie Madoff.

Personal life

Madoff was born and raised on Long Island, New York, the elder of Bernard and Ruth Madoff's two sons. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Michigan in 1986, where he had been a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. He married his college girlfriend, Susan Elkin, and moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, where they raised two children. They divorced in 2000, and he eventually moved back to Manhattan. In 2003, he married Stephanie Mikesell, with whom he had two children, born in 2006 and 2008.

Career and investment scandal

Madoff joined his father's company in 1987. He and his brother, Andrew Madoff (1966–2014), managed the firm's legitimate market-making and proprietary trading arm.

In December 2008, Mark and his brother confronted their father over his plans to distribute hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to employees months ahead of schedule. The elder Madoff then confessed to them that his business was based on a "big lie", a long-running Ponzi scheme that was collapsing under the then-ongoing Great Recession. He asked them to give him 24 hours to get his affairs in order before going to the authorities; however, the brothers went to the authorities immediately on the advice of their lawyers. Bernard Madoff was arrested the next day, and Mark never spoke with him again.