Ponzi Supernova

by Steve Fishman

Ponzi Supernova is an original audio series that profiles Bernie Madoff, the Wall Street financier sent to prison for orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history. The series, hosted by journalist Steve Fishman, includes hours of unheard conversations with Madoff behind bars, as well as interviews with law enforcement and the victims.

Length: 2 hrs and 40 mins

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Business, True Crime, Crime, History, Biography

3 pages, Audible Audio

First published April 10, 2017

Reviews

[Andrew Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 2009 Bernie Madoff was jailed for 150 years. A former chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange, he had set up a Ponzi scheme – the largest in world history – which at the time of it’s collapse left a financial hole totalling some $65 billion. In case you’re not familiar with the terminology, a Ponzi scheme involves accepting investment funds and then fabricating reports showing the promised levels of return. In essence, it’s similar to a pyramid scheme in that early investors are repaid from the flow of money from new investors. The scheme was finally brought down by the global collapse in 2008 with some individual investors losing millions.

In this podcast series (free to Audible members) author Steve Fishman walks us through the events leading up to the arrest of Madoff and casts an eye at other likely players in the fraudulent scheme. A New York journalist, Fishman had spent over 10 years interviewing more than one hundred people and working through thousands of documents. He had also managed to speak directly to Madoff via a phone link to his jail, taping some of the conversations. They reveal the fraudster to be somewhat charming but certainly hell bent on putting his own personal spin on events.

In the final episodes, Fishman starts to question whether others might have escaped their share of the blame for these shameful events. There are some big investors who seems to have gained substantially from their involvement and then there are a number of banks who ‘sold’ investments to some of their customers – money that ended up in the Ponzi scheme.

It’s a short but insightful look into one of the biggest financial crimes in history and well worth catching if you have an interest in such events.

[Malia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but not as gripping as I thought. I had expected something like Serial, but it didn't hold my attention as much, maybe because it jumped around a lot. Not a bad audiobook, but not a must-listen in my opinion.

Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Audible Original does a great job of grabbing hold of you and dragging you into the world of Bernard Madoff, breaking down his Ponzi scheme, and ultimately pointing out the flaws that still exist in the system.

Some of the sound effects and editing are distracting, but they don’t take away from the overall.

And the overall is a good, complete story of how $65 billion up and vanished, and how we (society, court system, financial industry) decided to blame it all on a single guy.

[Dkovlak · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was short on details. It would have been more interesting if more details were provided. I did not learn much more than I already knew about the biggest Ponzi scheme in history.

[K2 ----- · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but I think that several books did a better job at telling the story.

Certainly as an audible original, for those who did not read other books, it might be revelatory. I did not find it so.

I found the cell phone ring-like sound effects distracting.

I hoped for something more and it was worth every penny I paid for it.

Bernie's lack of regrets and the delusions he seems to still have even after the death of business associates and his own flesh and blood seem rather incredible to this listener who was not btw taken by his scheme. I do think of all the school teachers and Jewish charities that were bamboozled by him and it sickens me. I do have empathy also for his wife to be involved with something like this is a horror on whatever level she may have been.

Hearing Madoff say he wished it was caught earlier was interesting but I don't believe it, must have been quite a double-life he was leading. My heart goes out to the victims. I have heard of so many similar smaller schemes here on the W. Coast since then, get rich ideas that whole families buy into, tragic what greed can do.

[Pam M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this audio series for free from Audible. It highlights interviews with Bernie Madoff himself, the father of all Ponzi schemes. Also included are interviews with victims (domestic and international), an investment manager and  an auditor who raised red flags early on but were ignored, and a "clean-up crew" (in charge of recovering some of the $67 billion in funds). Interesting enough, Madoff made some big companies big moneys but these were never recovered. Only a handful was funneled back to the victims. The poor people who lost their hard-earned money, their retirement money, had to pay the price. And yet, during the interview, Madoff didn't show empathy to his victims. He mouthed the apology, but he obviously was not sincere because he justified his actions with "they knew what they were signing up for, returns were not guaranteed, etc". The only sign of remorse he showed was when he said he cried for weeks when his son committed suicide on the 2nd year anniversary of his conviction, a clear message that he destroyed his son's life. Madoff knew the shortcomings of the system, i.e., SEC's flaws, the broken brokerage system-- and used it to his advantage. He is in jail for life, but he shouldn't be the only one.

[Rob Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steve Fishman’s six-part audio series, Ponzi Supernova, profiles the fraudster Bernie Madoff. Madoff is currently serving a federal prison sentence. He is:
- the former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market,
- the confessed operator of the largest Ponzi scheme in world history, and
- the founder of the largest financial fraud in U.S. history.

Prosecutors estimated the fraud to be worth $64.8 billion. They based this on the amounts in the accounts of Madoff's 4,800 clients as of November 30, 2008.

The series shows Madoff’s refusal to take responsibility, his lack of regrets and the delusions he seems to still have. This is even after the death of business associates and his own family. It contains three hours of interviews with him. But, it is comforting to note that about half of Madoff’s investors still ended up in the black.

The series also includes supporting material from an ex-FBI investigator, colleagues and people affected by Madoff.

All in all, an interesting listen but short on detail.

[Graeme Newell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short audio documentary book tells the story of the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme and features one of the few interviews with Madoff since he went to prison.

I really enjoy the audio documentary format of these books. It makes them so much more entertaining. This audio production is particularly compelling, complete with sound effects, music and skilled narration.

The melodramatic title reflects the overall tone of this book. There is some very interesting information in here, but its tabloid, speculative tone got a bit tiring. This is a very short work, so there’s not much depth here. I was disappointed it didn’t provide more information.

Still, it was an entertaining, short read and I learned a few new things.

[Lindsay Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew so little about what happened. I thought Madoff was a massive crook (and he is) but I found there was so much more to it. There are so many others who should be in jail beside him, not just his colleagues but the institutions and people at them that fed into all of it. Madoff was "made" -- it was shocking and fascinating, much like the Big Short. You leave breathe less and hateful at the way finance is done.

[Quinn da Matta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madoff was a bad guy who took advantage of a broken system that was mostly left unchecked so that a few could benefit over the many.

This story isn’t over, and it will most-likely happen again. And again. And again... as long as some can still benefit, the system won’t really change; it will continue to evolve and grow until the next collapse.

[Rachel Aranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting hearing Madoff's side of things and hearing from his victims and pals but that is about all the food I can say about this Audible freebie. Maybe I expected too much but the idea that was in the summary was more interesting than the actual product. The audio was shotty, and the "plot" went in all kinds of tangents. This just wasn't was a good Audible Original audiobook.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the true story of the man who fooled everyone and ruined many financially. A story that includes interviews. This is a warning to investors.

[Brendan Monroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a fan of NPR's "This American Life", you'll like this. This is more of a podcast than an actual book, and I would have been interested in a more in-depth account of Madoff and the racket he had going, but this is a really entertaining, informative overview of his fall (if not so much his rise), and an indictment of Wall Street in general. While certainly a criminal - and an unrepentant one as is made clear - we're left with no doubt that Bernie Madoff was a scapegoat for the Wall Street firms and banks that profited off of his ripping off of the American taxpayer, and non-Americans as well.

This Audible original utilizes the audiobook format by including never-before-heard recordings and interviews of Madoff that allow us to get closer to the man than we've ever been before, even if, at less than three hours running time, it never got quite as close as I would have liked.

[Patrick S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much in the same vein as NPR's Serial, this short miniseries gets in and gets out. The downside is that with something as complicated as the subject of the Maedoff scheme, the author doesn't explain a lot of the scheme, terms, or success as completely. The big rush after the interview with Maedoff is to find who else is responsible. The sad fact is, the author decides that when it comes to government incompetencey it's just a wonderment that no one noticed or failed to check out the details. When it comes to the banks it's greed and evilness run amok. There is also no discussion of how these institutions, who are admittedly doing unethical things, prop them up and incentives these behaviors by the government. A nice look back at a good scandal as long as you know a lot more than the author gives you. Final Grade - C

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I think it was free, so I shouldn't hate too much, but this really wasn't worth my time. Over/badly produced (more like Radiolab or a radio show, vs. an audiobook), where the stupid production stuff added no value. Lots of promises of depth or insight, but not a whole lot. I would have been happier with it as a 30-60 minute podcast, not a 2+ hour fake book. Madoff as a topic is interesting, but this is not the source.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

High production value audiobook with actual taped interviews with Madoff and some of his co-conspirators. A case study in the ability of the human brain to fool itself and the greed of people who look the wrong way because of incentives. A sad, cautionary tale.
The producers listen a little too much to NPR (not my personal favorite), but if that style of storytelling is your thing then you'll enjoy this one.

[Maurício Linhares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bernie Madoff's story is much more complicated than the news made it look like, it involves much more than a wizkid making lots of money, it's about the people those operations serve, how they do not accept losing and what they're willing to do to keep the ball rolling. It's also an important cautionary tale that if you trip the wrong people you go to jail, but not if you take down the whole banking system given no one from the previous economic disaster has seen the bars. Awesome listen!

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

enlightening true crime presented in a serialized format. agreed with others that the production values are slightly over-the-top and detract from the storytelling; think "This American Life" with voice mods and reverb. It's not frequent but it is present. otherwise a good story well narrated and worth sharing.

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick audio book I received free from Audible. It was an interesting listen that was only about three hours but several times I felt like it was interesting but was mostly talking about stuff I already knew from just been alive when it happened. If you have no knowledge of the case it may be more interesting to you.

[Brittany Burslem · Rating 2 out of 5]

In one word: overwrought. The emphasis on interviews takes away from the book rather than adding to it especially because some of them are poor quality and hard to follow. For such an introductory look into madoff I would have preferred something more succinct and focused.

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

while it is an interesting subject the delivery of this "audio book" is over produced and in enjoyable. Also, the narrative is so lack luster that I am three fourths of the way through the book and have no desire to finish.

[Myra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn't have to many expectations...I needed something to listen to on Audible.
It did grip my attention, there are still many holes in the story and the author could have dug a little more. However, it's a quick listen on Audible.

[Gigisxm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read. Brought clarity to some facets of this scheme. And left me with more questions than answers and that was the point. To make the reader look beyond the headlines and convections. Good read

[Alyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to learn a bit more about Madoff before watching Wizard of Lies, but I don't think this audible original really helped me gain clarity and insight. Maybe I was hoping for a bit more intrigue and excitement like Serial or other podcasts. It was good, just not great.

[Chris Lester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great information here about the Madoff saga, but it's a bit disorganized and hard to follow in places. That may just be the complicated subject matter, but it made it hard for me to keep everything straight after I listened to it.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cool for a free mini series through Audible.
Loved listening to Madoff himself talk about how he started everything and how/why he kept it going. A quick listen, definitely recommend!

[Chris Esposo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazon's attempt to recreate Serial was a fascinating narrative and actual interview audio from Madoff. Focuses more on how Madoff executed the scam (in his own words), and his angle on the events (he's a clever guy that was just doing what others already knew were askew, but let it go because of greed). This is partially correct, Madoff was not that clever, at one point in the interview, he claimed to have built an AI for his investments, and this was how they became competitive in the early days before the pyramid scheme. Later on, the investigator points out that parts of the code they used were literal random number generators to create synthetic data they'd feed to the regulators and shareholders... The takeaway is a lot of the elements that allowed Madoff to do his thing, are still there. Great listen on fraud, detecting fraud, and how relationship brokerages works

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short recording is really interesting and quite disturbing. This monstrously wide, and fairly surface cover-up worked for way too long. This highlights the evil in all who could have easily seen what was going on if they just paid attention to the "bad smells" around this organization and guy. It also highlights how the very people that ignored the veiled monstrosity of fraudulent activity, mostly escaped with no penalty. It's so wrong. I'm not smart enough to say how it SHOULD be handled, but those doing the checking are not being held accountable. This recording shows how we humans fall WAY too easily for things we WANT to be good, even when there are signs that it's possibly rotten. Fascinating and sobering recording.

[Cee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember when Madoff was big news. But, as the author of this says, he didn't give any interviews. Here he managed to interview and get on tape Madoff himself as well as people who were swindled, and people who did and did not invest. I didn't think it would be as interesting as it was. In fact, I was really glad that Madoff was constantly described as a crook. Someone would say, I liked going out to eat with him, and the author would remind us, he's just a crook. He's a swindler. And, although this word was not used, the idea that Madoff is a narcissist was clear.

[Felicia J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listening to this audio series will make you want to take your money out of the bank and stash it in a sock under your mattress.

The production tries too hard to be slick with cheesy effects, but overall it's a gripping listen. It's only partially about what Madoff had to say. The second half examines how the risk managers and regulators should have known something was off, but didn't want to upset the gravy train.