Many of Madoff’s clients knew he was cheating. They knew his returns were too good for normal market forces. They knew he was cheating somehow. What they never expected was, he was cheaing them.
You can’t cheat an honest man. You bet the reason that Madoff was successful was in very large measure due to the absolute greed of his clients who thought he was cheating others and were fine with that.
You can’t cheat an honest man.
...and then some are lazy ostrich investors...they just want returns, they don't ask how or why something is as it is..they put TRUST in the person that is the "handler" or LAZY TRUST in the friend who referred them..people like to brag when coming into a sweet deal--they want to get their friends in on it--what the friends do not know is that their trusted Golf CC acquaintance or relative has no clue....THEY JUST WANT IN.
The majority of people do not invest that way--if they have any sense about them.
The returning fox knows there will always be more rabbits hanging around the same hole.
Question is..why did a rich man like Speilberg, for instance, with trusted financial [the best] people who have performed for him over the years: need to go rogue with someone like Madoff?
BTTT!