Ruth Madoff's Life Today Is Pretty Sad - YouTube

When Bernie Madoff's investment firm turned out to be a giant Ponzi scheme, the world

watched in shock as his family's lavish lifestyle crumbled, and thousands of clients he had

swindled were left with virtually nothing.

At the center of it all were his sons, who turned their father over to law enforcement

in 2008, and his wife, Ruth Madoff, who maintained that she was unaware of any illegal activity.

In the years that passed, Ruth practically disappeared from the spotlight altogether.

Here's how she's getting by today.

Let's make a deal

In June 2009, just days before Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison, Ruth

struck a deal with U.S. prosecutors, forfeiting her right to $80 million in various assets,

in return for $2.5 million.

A few months later, Ruth's assets were frozen after trustee Irving Picard sued her for $44.8

million in an attempt to obtain "the return of $44.8 million that he said was transferred

to her from Bernard Madoff's firm over a six-year period."

As part of a court order, Ruth was ordered to report her monthly expenses, as well as

anytime she spent over $100 on herself.

Attempted suicide

During an interview with 60 Minutes, Ruth dropped the bombshell that she and Bernie

had tried to kill themselves on Christmas Eve 2008, just two weeks after Bernie came

clean about his Ponzi scheme.

She admitted:

"I don't know who — whose idea it was.

But we decided to kill ourselves."

"I just said, 'I can't go on anymore.'"

She and Bernie took sleeping pills, but woke up the next morning.

She said:

"It was very impulsive and I'm glad we woke up."

But sadly her son Mark wasn't so lucky.

Losing her family

Ruth and Bernie's son, Mark, committed suicide on December 11, 2010, exactly two years after

his father's arrest.

At the time, a source close to the family told the New York Times that in the weeks

before his suicide, Mark had "expressed both continuing bitterness toward his father and

anxiety about a series of lawsuits that were filed against him, his brother Andrew, and

other family members."

He had also become anxious over "news coverage speculating that criminal charges against

him and his brother were still likely," even though neither were ever charged.

Mark's suicide left Ruth devastated and filled with regret, as she had refused to listen

to Mark's pleas to cut off contact with Bernie.

Ruth, who was allegedly not allowed to attend Mark's funeral, told 60 Minutes, "I just wish,

until my dying day, that I had done what he wanted.

I don't know if it would have made a difference or not, but if I could change things...I would

have felt a little better."

Ruth would later lose son Andrew to mantle-cell lymphoma in 2014.

Change of address

After initially moving to Boca Raton, Florida in 2011, Ruth made another move in 2012, this

time heading back north to Old Greenwich, Connecticut.

According to the New York Post, the town is about an hour away from Manhattan by train.

But she reportedly moved there to be closer to her three grandchildren, settling into

a gated community called The Gables, where one-bedroom condos list for over $3,000 a

month.

According to ABC News, friends and acquaintances say that Ruth keeps to herself, and that she

still keeps in contact with her husband even though she no longer visits.

Madoff lawyer Ira Sorkin said, "She was caught between her grandchildren and [Bernie]," but

what just her relationship with Bernie is still remains under wraps.

The HBO project

In 2017, HBO's The Wizard Of Lies attempted to answer questions about the family's knowledge

of the infamous Ponzi scheme, with Michelle Pfeiffer portraying Ruth.

For Pfeiffer's part, she believes Ruth and their sons truly didn't know what was going

on until Bernie confessed.

Pfeiffer told Town and Country, "In all the research I did, there wasn't one person who

knew the facts who thought Ruth was aware of anything."

Before filming started, Pfeiffer met with Ruth at her Old Greenwich home.

According to what director Barry Levinson told Page Six, "I don't think it would be

appropriate to say [Ruth] 'cooperated' with the film.

Michelle simply spent a little time talking to Ruth.

I don't think Michelle talked much about the script.

It was simply to get to know her."

Pfeiffer told Town and Country, "I knew Ruth wasn't happy about this film being made.

Why would she be?

But the best I could do is represent her in an honest way.

My hope is that people will come away from this film thinking of her as a human being."

But not even Pfeiffer may be able to redeem her in the public eye.

Public harassment

In 2015, The Daily News reported on an incident where Ruth Madoff was confronted by a Crime

Watch Daily reporter on the front steps of her home.

Another round of money stolen by her husband was going to be repaid to victims, and the

reporter tried to get a statement from her.

Her only response was, quote, "Get away from me!"

Evven though she was reportedly being kept to an extremely strict budget, the Daily Mail

reported her not only shopping at IKEA, but still carrying a handbag worth around $1,350.

According to the Post, these days, Ruth mostly keeps to herself, and neighbors have little

to say about her, either.

A client at her hair salon said, "Why can't she just live in peace?

She has a right to her privacy."

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