Bernie Madoff boat on auction at glitzy European hedge fund event
Bernie Madoff's boat is going for $4.3 million this week at the 17th annual Gaim Conference - one of the European hedge fund industry's most glamorous annual events, according to Financial Times.
FT reports that the boat's sale is an uncomfortable reminder for the hedge fund crowd gathered in Monaco. Money managers who lost clients millions because they invested with Madoff make up a large portion of the attendants.
The boat is being auctioned to help compensate victims of Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme, discovered at the height of the Global Financial Crisis. Madoff pleaded guilty in March 2009. The $4.3 million amount is a significant discount to the boat's listed price, apparently due to its association with Madoff, according to its sales materials.
Previous auctions of the Madoff family's personal assets have raised an estimated $24m in total from sales of items including a classic Aston Martin, antique Chinese porcelains and rare watches.
The boat, one of the final Madoff items for sale, has about 350 hours of use and has been continuously and meticulously looked after by the original captain, stated the sales documents distributed at the conference and seen by the Financial Times. If the owner wants anonymity, a simple name change is all that is required, said the sales brochure.
Madoff is currently in the Federal Correctional Institution Butner Medium near Butner, North Carolina, about 45 miles (72 km) northwest of Raleigh. He is sentenced to 150 years of jail. He is 73 years old.
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