How It Really Happened: Season 6, Episode 5

6 - 5: Bernie Madoff Part 1: The Most Hated Man in America

Bernie Madoff was a legend on Wall Street. He helped create Nasdaq, served as its chairman, and operated a highly successful brokerage firm. But at the same time, Bernie Madoff was also running a secret hedge fund, a fund known only by word of mouth. As news spread about Madoff's steady returns, some of the wealthiest people were begging Bernie Madoff to invest their money. Billions of dollars were pouring in from around the world. But in 2008, when the financial crisis hit and Madoff's investors began demanding their money back, Madoff knew he wouldn't have enough to pay them. He finally confessed to his sons that he had been living a lie--that his investment business was nothing more than a multi-billion-dollar fraud - the largest Ponzi scheme ever.