Media Mogul Scammed By Hedge-Fund Hustler
Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman is the latest billionaire revealed to have fallen prey to ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff. How many of Rupert Murdoch's papers does it take to cover the story?
At least two! The Wall Street Journal has the scoop, reporting that U.S. News editor and real estate mogul Zuckerman "had significant exposure through a fund that invested substantially all of its assets with Mr. Madoff, according to a person familiar with his investments."
No dollar figure is provided by the Journal, or by the Post, which carried its own summary of the Journal story, just to make sure the owner of the tabloid competition was suitably embarrassed among as diverse an array of New Yorkers as possible.
Other victims from today's coverage:
- Steven Spielberg's charity, the Wunderkinder Foundation, derived "roughly 70 percent of [its] interest and dividend income" from Madoff as of 2006 and has confirmed it suffered losses on its Madoff investments.
- Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel's Foundation for Humanity lost money.
- So did New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg and his family foundation.
Madoff's other victims are disproportionately Jewish and rich, like Zuckerman.
They were also disproportionately suckers, but before I can laugh at them I have to go renew my AIG insurance policy and check on how little of my retirement savings is left.