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So if he was not greedy, why did he started the Ponzi scheme in first place?

• byrneseyeview 18y ago
  Read his testimony. He started it because investors expected him to be able to make money; when he couldn't do it, he faked it. The guy charged zero fees on his money management business. He could have charged 2 and 20, and had an income of $1-$2 billion by this point. If you look at how he spent the money he did have, it wasn't on whores and blow. He gave money away to charities, he got onto boards -- he made himself part of the establishment, because he wanted people to love him. If he'd stayed a market-maker and never given money away, people wouldn't have looked up to him for decades, but they wouldn't loathe him now, either. He'd just be another successful guy who created a lot of wealth and didn't particularly need approval.