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Highlights
- Larry King was fortunate to recover his $700K investment in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme with help from the Madoff estate and the government.
- Kevin Bacon, on the other hand, lost millions in the scheme but remained positive, focusing on rebuilding his net worth and learning valuable life lessons.
- Bernie Madoff’s final days in prison were difficult, with reports of amputated toes and missing teeth, painting a grim picture of his health before passing away.
Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme scammed billions of dollars. Among that list of people that were scammed included many celebs, such as Larry King, Kevin Bacon, and Steven Spielberg.
It seems like King and Bacon had opposite experiences. In the following, we’re going to take a closer look at the money King lost due to the investment, and how he was able to get it all back.
As for Kevin Bacon, the actor handled the scam with class, but wasn’t able to recoup his massive fortune. We’ll take a closer look at both situations, while also highlighting what Bernie Madoff’s final days in prison were like. Based on reports, Madoff’s final days were a complete disaster.
Let’s take a closer look.
Larry King Was Able To Recover His $700K Investment From Bernie Madoff
Larry King was one of the many victims of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme. According to Larry King, it was New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon that encouraged him to make the investment. King admitted to ESPN that he never heard a bad thing about Madoff and, in addition, he was on the verge of putting all of his money into the investment.
The late Larry King said, “In fact, my wife said to me one day,” King recounted, “‘Why don’t we put everything with him?'”
It was initially reported that the investment was $2.3 million. However, this later changed to $700,000 and, according to NBC News, King was able to get his investment back, unlike Kevin Bacon and many others.
NBC News wrote, “King said that he and his wife got money back from the Madoff estate and from the government for taxes they paid on stock they never had.”
The publication continues, “King told “Extra” on Thursday that he thinks Ruth Madoff came forward to help her daughter-in-law’s new book about her husband, Mark Madoff. He hanged himself with a dog leash last year on the anniversary of his father’s arrest.”
Others weren’t as lucky and that included Kevin Bacon and his wife Kyra Sedgwick. The two lost millions due to Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme.
Kevin Bacon Instead Lost Millions, But Still Kept A Positive Attitude
They lost a fortune but somehow managed to stay positive. Bacon admits not once did the moment cause tension with his wife, Kyra Sedgwick. Instead, the two were focused on moving forward from the start and rebuilding their net worths. The couple knew they could sell their home and make a profit. However, they decided to bet on themselves and it all worked out in the end.
In addition, Bacon admits he learned many lessons through the failed experience.
“There’s obvious life lessons there. You know, if something is too good to be true, it’s too good to be true,” Bacon recalled. “When something like that happens, you know, you look at each other, then you go, ‘Well, that sucks. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work,’ you know?”
Credit to Bacon as the actor was able to move on quickly from the situation and really doesn’t even think about it anymore.
“It was a bad day. But pretty quickly we were able to see all the things we had as opposed to whatever we lost, and those are the biggest cliches: children, health, love, a nice home. So we got through it together. I don’t think about Madoff, like, at all.”
He continues, “Whatever the cliches… Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Bacon continued. “We just rolled up our sleeves.”
In addition, the “bad day” brought Bacon closer to his wife Sedgwick. They truly battled adversity in the best way possible.
Bernie Madoff’s Final Days In Prison Before His Passing Were A Disaster
Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for scamming $65 billion. He passed away at the hospital of the federal prison in April of 2021. Madoff was in rough shape at the time. He reportedly had his toes amputated, and was missing teeth during his final days.
The New York Post writes about his final days in jail, “About a week before he succumbed, the reviled former financier screamed for assistance, and when a nurse responded, he stared at the floor, wiggled his left foot and yelled, “Help! I hate this f–-ing place!,” according to Market Watch. Madoff’s fourth toe on the foot, and one of the toes next to it, had to be amputated because of gangrene.”
Madoff clearly was not in a good place at the time of his passing. He was 82.
