American financier and con artist (1938–2021) Bernard Lawrence Madoff was an American financier, con artist, and stock broker who was the admitted mastermind of the largest-known Ponzi scheme in history, worth an estimated $65 billion. He was at one time chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange. Madoff's firm had two basic units: a stock brokerage and an asset management business; the Ponzi scheme was centered in the asset management business. 308,695 views on May 21, 2017 — Wikipedia's most-read article that day. Also most read: Chris Cornell, Alien: Covenant, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, Dwayne Johnson. Wiki link