Bernie Madoff, the popular Criminal?

Dear Followers,

Last weekend the first one of a number of Auctions selling fraudster Bernhard Madoffs personal belongings took place in Manhattan, NY.
The goods, which ranged from valuables such as Jewels and Watches to personal items like jackets were auctioned to at least reimburse a fracture of the money stolen by Madoff to his victims.
Since Madoffs crime is estimated to have a total magnitude of at least $21billion, I think the auction has more of a symbolic than financial value but I will further explain this point later.

The auctioned goods brought a total of over $942,000 and therefore nearly twice the initial estimate and I was asking myself,
“Why are there premiums and not discounts on these stolen goods?”

As sources for my information I used 3 different articles which were published in the German Welt, the Guardian and BBC News.

The article from the German Die Welt in my eyes could not be any more boring in style even though it does include all of the necessary information regarding the matter.
There is no form of bias or opinionation but neither is there any form of humour or passion about the matter. I think since this is a weekend newspaper and this is a very significant and touching subject for thousands of people it should be written in another manner. It simply is a listing of facts, which in this case are items and prices and a little description of scenery and situation around it. It only lines out that low value personal items were sold for far more than expected while valuable goods remained below minimum bid. This means that people were souvenir hunting and not looking for value which the reader has to interpret himself.

The article published by BBC News is basically exactly the same thing just that it was translated into English and summarized a little bit. It is simply an alignment of the facts without any form of bias or passion about the topic. I would personally say its better than the article from Die Welt since it is more compact. If it isn’t interesting but just informative there is no need for anything but the basic information in my opinion.

The article which was published in The Guardian is by far the best one in my opinion especially taking into account it is a weekend article. Most likely the reader does not just look for information but also for reading entertainment which the author does provide in this case. The article includes the main important data about the happening such as the goods sold and the prices achieved for them but other than the other two it also includes informative and important background data. It does not include any bias but for example outlines the severity and consequences of Madoffs crime by stating that it was the cause for at least 2 suicides. Another aspect I find highly interesting is that it includes the statements and therefore opinions of some of the bidders, because I was asking myself what would be the incentive for people to acquire a criminals personal belongings. One person said that its like a piece of the modern titanic to have souvenir from Madoffs yacht, another bidder said he unites investment with good cause for the victim.

Coming to the writing and reporting style of the articles first in think the only one out of the three that is good is the one from the Guardian. One should not forget that a weekend newspaper for many readers is not just source of information but also entertaining occupation. Therefore there should be some kind of humour about how the things are written. Especially for a topic like this, which affected people all around the world or at least touched their feeling of justice, the author could try and make it interesting and include the opinion and situation of people it affected. Reading should also entertain and not just inform.

Regarding the event as such I think that it is more of a symbolic value to this auction than a real purpose behind it. The fraud committed by Bernie Madoff over the past 4 decades caused investors a total damage of at least the estimate of $21 billion, at least 2 suicides and a lot of tears and destroyed careers, fortunes and existences. Auctions which are estimated to bring a total revenue of $500,000 are hardly going to cover that. I think it’s more of the symbolic value to show the people what will happen to someone who behaved like Madoff. He is destroyed as a consequence of his acting, he will die in prison and even his personal life is for sale.
The message that is being sent is;
“America does not tolerate this behaviour, there are consequences.”

What I myself find very surprising is how much for and that people even buy Madoffs items. The fact that for example his Baseball Jacket with “Madoff” on the back goes for 29 times the estimated $500 but a vintage Rolex of real value remains unsold shows me that people want Madoff memories and not goods at bargain pricing as usually at an auction. I find this very confusing since he in my mind, and on paper, is a criminal. This person caused a lot of personal failures for others and even suicides, so I ask myself are it even politically correct to sell his belongings?
It has no positive effect for the victims since the financial results are simply too low to make up for the damage caused and people see it more as a joke than a tragedy which can be told from bidders statements.
The question that remains for me and I really don’t understand is

“Why do people want the belongings of a criminal as if he is a hero?”







Sources:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/nov/15/bernard-madoff-auction-sheraton


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8361024.stm


http://www.welt.de/finanzen/article5220779/65-000-Dollar-fuer-eine-Luxus-Uhr-von-Bernie-Madoff.html