Fraud, lies, and a tragic end:
The Bernie Madoff scandal shocked the world — but where is his wife today?
The crisis of 2008 sent the global economy into severe decline. A crashing stock market
and the plummeting value of retirement accounts were constant stories in the 24-hour news cycle
for months, as panicked investors waited to see just how low the market was going to go. But if
one story from this crisis overshadowed any of the panics, it was the Bernie Madoff scandal.
Investigations into Madoff would eventually reveal that the once-trusted Wall Street
investment advisor had defrauded nearly 40,000 people, including citizens of 136 countries. It
would seem that no one was immune to the wide net of fraud that Madoff had cast over the decades,
as people from all walks of life found themselves on his list of victims.
Madoff's historic scheme later landed him in hot water with federal authorities,
as you'd probably expect if you were running a $65 million Ponzi scheme. In 2009,
Madoff pled guilty to 11 federal charges that included investment advisor fraud and
money laundering. Madoff was remanded into federal custody soon after to begin serving
his 150-year prison sentence. He died in April 2021 from terminal kidney failure.
Though a notorious white-collar criminal, Madoff was also a husband, father, and grandfather,
and the publicity of the scandal took its toll on his loved ones — particularly his
wife and sons. But who exactly was his wife, and what happened to her after the scandal broke?
Ruth and Bernie Madoff were high school sweethearts; they married when she was
just 18. In 1964, several years after graduating from Queens College with a degree in Psychology,
Ruth gave birth to their first son, Mark. Another son, Andrew, followed in
1966. Ruth later became employed by her husband's company, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities,
as the bookkeeper. Ruth was never charged with any crimes and received a $2.5 million
settlement in exchange for surrendering her claims to her husband's $80 million estate.
The news of her husband's wrongdoings devastated Ruth. In a 2011 interview with 60 Minutes,
she revealed that she attempted suicide on Christmas Eve in 2008.
"We decided to kill ourselves because it was so horrendous."
She and her husband each took a handful of sleeping pills, hoping to end their lives, only
to wake up the next morning. She later stood by her husband throughout his trial and conviction.
"It was very impulsive. And I'm glad we woke up."
Shunned from the Manhattan life that she once enjoyed, Ruth moved to Florida before later
settling in Connecticut, swapping a multi-million dollar mansion for a 1,000-square-foot apartment.
It wasn't long before she was living a life of luxury once more, however.
Ruth moved from her small apartment in a $3.8 million mansion in Old Greenwich
in the fall of 2022. A source told The Daily Mail that the house is owned by Susan Elkin,
Ruth's former daughter-in-law, and her husband. In the years since her late husband's conviction,
Ruth has stayed out of the public eye. Her current 4,000-square-foot
home has four bedrooms, a private dock, and windows that overlook Greenwich Cove.
In 2021, the New York Post attempted to secure an interview with Ruth by sending someone to
knock on the door of her new home. The woman who answered confirmed that Ruth was home,
but stated that she was not available to talk.
The rest of the Madoff family spiraled after the conviction of their patriarch.
Mark Madoff died by suicide in 2010. The youngest son, Andrew,
died from lymphoma in 2014. Peter Madoff, Bernie's brother, was convicted of securities
fraud and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Meanwhile, Madoff's sister and brother-in-law,
Sondra and Marvin Wiener, died from an apparent murder-suicide in early 2022.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.