http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/daily_download/archive/tags/Bernard+Madoff/default.aspxTAGS: Bernard MadoffenCommunityServer 2007 SP2 (Build: 20611.960)http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/daily_download/archive/2008/12/15/replace-ponzi-with-madoff.aspxMon, 15 Dec 2008 14:33:00 GMT69a35da2-a32a-4865-9f9a-b94bb9d2309f:5072Sukumar Ranganathan0http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/daily_download/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=5072http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/daily_download/commentapi.aspx?PostID=5072http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/daily_download/archive/2008/12/15/replace-ponzi-with-madoff.aspx#comments<p>Should we seriously reconsider renaming Ponzi schemes as Madoff schemes? <br />According to this entry in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme">Wikipedia</a>, Charles Ponzi&#39;s scheme made him around $15 million (he eventually returned a third back to investors) in the 1920s. <br />Using this wonderful <a href="http://www.measuringworth.com/">website</a>, I calculated the current worth (fine, worth in 2007) of that amount. <br />Here&#39;s what I got<br />$155.2 million using the consumer price index <br />$123.8 million using the GDP deflator <br />$ 378.15 million using the value of the consumer bundle<br />$ 523 million using the unskilled wage index<br />$825.7 million using the nominal GDP per capita<br />and $23.43 billion using the relative share of GDP<br />With estimates suggesting that Bernard Madoff&#39;s fraud is worth <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4BC1WK20081215">$50 billion</a>, Ponzi&#39;s take seems chump change. <br />I&#39;d suggest we stop calling this a Ponzi scheme and start calling it a Madoff scheme. <br />Those interested in the definitions of the economic terms used to calculate the current value of $15 million will find it<a href="http://www.measuringworth.com/uscompare/#"> here</a> <br /></p> <div class = "shareblock"><strong>Share this post:</strong> <a href = "mailto:?body=Thought you might like this: http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/daily_download/archive/2008/12/15/replace-ponzi-with-madoff.aspx&amp;;subject=Replace+Ponzi+with+Madoff" target="_blank" title = "Post http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/daily_download/archive/2008/12/15/replace-ponzi-with-madoff.aspx">email it!</a> | <a href = "http://del.icio.us/post?url=http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/daily_download/archive/2008/12/15/replace-ponzi-with-madoff.aspx&amp;;title=Replace+Ponzi+with+Madoff" target="_blank" title = "Post http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/daily_download/archive/2008/12/15/replace-ponzi-with-madoff.aspx">del.icio.us!</a> | <a href = "http://www.digg.com/submit?url=http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/daily_download/archive/2008/12/15/replace-ponzi-with-madoff.aspx&amp;;phase=2" target="_blank" title = "Post http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/daily_download/archive/2008/12/15/replace-ponzi-with-madoff.aspx">digg it!</a> | <a href = "http://newsvine.com/_tools/seed?u=http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/daily_download/archive/2008/12/15/replace-ponzi-with-madoff.aspx" target="_blank" title = "Post http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/daily_download/archive/2008/12/15/replace-ponzi-with-madoff.aspx">newsVine!</a></div><img src="http://blogs.livemint.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=5072" width="1" height="1">fraudCharles PonziBernard Madoff