Posted on 03/03/2009 9:09:01 PM PST by george76
Just two days after a copy of his new book, "Annals of Gullibility," arrived at his south Jefferson County home in December, Stephen Greenspan received shocking news.
The 67-year-old University of Colorado psychiatry professor had fallen for the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time. A third of his retirement savings had been invested with Bernard Madoff.
Even in his disbelief, Greenspan recognized the irony. The subtitle of his book practically screamed it: "Why We Get Duped and How to Avoid It."
"I had been scammed," Greenspan said. "In a way it was funny, though I didn't think so at the time."
Greenspan had better reason than many Madoff victims to keep quiet about his misfortune. But he did the opposite. He wrote a lengthy essay on gullibility, financial scams and irrational risk-taking in which he revealed his costly mistake.
The science journal Skeptic ran the piece on its website in late December, and The Wall Street Journal picked it up for its Jan. 3 Weekend Journal cover story.
Since then Greenspan, who lives with his wife and one of two sons amid the red rocks and scrub oak of Deer Creek Canyon, has become something of an authority on Madoff victims.
(Excerpt) Read more at denverpost.com ...
LOL! I was in Denver a few weeks ago and drove up towards and through Boulder. Another lib college town where the profs can be children for their entire life - cause all the libs get ten yer. Pretty scenery but the town looks dumpy like Berkeley. Libtard ghetto.
Haven’t read the Prof’s book but looks like Good Old Uncle Bernie hit his greed button. 25% increase in invest over each year?! Sure — happens all the time!
What happened to the kidnapping expert who went to Mexico to give advice and got kidnapped?
Did I miss that story?
That being said, people forget that the old 8% risk-free returns were inflation-generated. They feel a "need" to have a higher rate of return on their investments since they "live the life".
Their sense of entitlement galls me. There are some duped investors I sympathize with; not all.
...probably still thinks Ward Churchill's an Indian, too.
And the guy is actually named Greenspan. Too funny.
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