Bernie Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( / ˈmeɪdɔːf / MAY-dawf; [1] April 29, 1938 – April 14, 2021) was an American fraudster and financier who was the mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion. [2] [3] He was at one time chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange. [4]