High Life

Taki

Wednesday, 4th February 2009

Marked men

Gstaad

Last week I ventured down to Geneva for a meeting with my banker, a gentleman of the old school who did not get carried away by Bernie Madoff’s siren songs. To the contrary, he went as far as Odysseus, tied himself to his desk and plugged up the ears of his underlings. Metaphorically, that is. He had some interesting things to say. The mega-crook and fraudster never met suckers in person, except for those — mostly Jewish — friends of his in Palm Beach and in the Big Bagel. Europeans and Latin Americans were handled by his feeder fund managers, around 150 known ones, and, according to my banker, perhaps as many as 200 more unknown ones. That’s around 300 feeder funds working in secret to provide funds for a man whose name is already an adjective.

A feeder fund manager would approach a bank or a rich individual, announce how regretful it was that the Madoff fund was closed, but drop hints that, if an opening came up, the ‘mark’ could become a member of the ‘club’. The con was on, and sure enough the ‘mark’ would soon get another visit and hear the good news that finally they could join the club. In my banker’s case — his name shall remain a secret — he was told that, in view of the fact his bank is as prominent as it is, $500 million would be a minimum investment. My banker friend had contemplated investing perhaps 20 million for a look-see but, after the suggestion of 500 million big ones, told them thanks but no thanks. A wise and prudent man.

When the ‘mark’ or ‘marks’ would ask for details, the answer was automatic: ‘We cannot reveal anything of Bernie’s moves or investments because they might be leaked, and all of Wall Street will follow suit.’ Or words to that effect. It was a good con, and they all fell for it. The $500 billion question is, of course, did the feeders know it was a con, or had greed got in the way of common sense? I’d say in the case of Philippe Junot, Charles Fix and Thierry de la Villehuchet, it was definitely the latter. They had, after all, put most of their own money in it. The rest are as suspect to me as those who claimed in Nuremberg they knew nothing of war crimes. Mind you, the Banco Santander has done something about it. Their private clients, who lost 2.33 billion euros to Madoff’s con, will be repaid all their original investment. The bank is on to a winner. The payments will be in preferred Santander stock, thus tying up their clients for life, so to speak. The clients, needless to say, must agree not to sue the bank, thus freeing Santander from litigation that is bound to last for a generation. Santander is the first bank to offer compensation. I hear Kuwait is about to do the same but until now it is all talk. Union Bancaire Privée, owned and operated by the Picciotto clan, who invested $700 million with Uncle Bernie, has declined to comment whether compensation is on the cards. How can it be? Bodyguards cost money. I have been informed that Edgar Picciotto walks around Gstaad with two bodyguards and even had the gall to bring them to the Eagle club in case young Taki went after him. In a wild conspiracy theory, an executive of UBP actually rang me and told me that the reason the bank is not compensating investors is because — so the rumour goes — most of the funds are made up of Madoff’s own money.

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Gil

February 5th, 2009 7:02pm Report this comment

I read his piece week after week waiting for the obligatory 'Jewish' jibe or the 'Wehrmacht rehabilitation' comment. He never disappoints! What a bitter man Taki is. And what's this about a 'conspiracy theory'? Why, only last week we were told by the Great Man that Mossad was involved in Madoff's crimes. As someone from the period that Taki sometimes writes so wistfully about said: 'The bigger the lie, the more it will be believed'.

Andrew

February 7th, 2009 9:54pm Report this comment

Hear ... hear...Amazing how someone so talented can hate so very much....

Jane Bodington

February 8th, 2009 9:17pm Report this comment

You're right, it should be American actors in Wehrmacht uniforms, or Italian or Irish, maybe even Spanish. Let's be muliticultural and inclusive.
Why the Americans have a pathological need to put the British into the enemies 'boots' is something that perhaps Taki can shine a light on.
By the way, do tell, what colour has Wendi dyed Rupe's hair?

Manuel Escott

February 8th, 2009 11:25pm Report this comment

dear,oh,dear.the little greek boy is slipping in his not-so-subtle anti-jewish comments again. how else could he manage to slip in the names of podhoretz and kristol(both jewish) in a piece on the von stauffenberg movie. and of course he pays hisusual homage to those wonderful wermacht officers of the "old school.' same guys presumably who did such wonderful work for their leader in poland and russia. too bad volkischer beobachter isn,t still published. taki would be a star columnist there. manny,toronto

Bill

February 10th, 2009 10:34am Report this comment

What's "500 million big ones"? I thought this Taki fella moved in moneyed circles? But in his world a single dollar seems to be a "big one". Must be on his uppers. Where I come from a "big one" has always been a thousand, also known as a grand, latterly a piano — a derivative, I suppose.
And if von Stauffenberg and all those aristocratic Germans and Wehrmacht officers of the old school were such jolly good chaps, how did Hitler ever get to power and why did they wait until the war was lost before making their move against him?

GK

February 11th, 2009 5:00pm Report this comment

Those people who tried to assassinate the Furher(including Speer) would be known by nobody, without the chief. In the end they just turned to traitors, Speer because he wanted to save Germany he said.

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