Skip to Main Content

Bernie Madoff, the Wizard of Lies

Inside the Infamous $65 Billion Swindle

Published by Oneworld Publications
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

With shocking new details from Madoff himself
The definitive account of the world’s biggest Ponzi scheme – an instant
New York Times bestseller


Who was Bernie Madoff, and how did he pull off the biggest Ponzi scheme in history?

This question has long fascinated people, about the New York financier who swindled his friends, relatives, and other investors out of $65 billion. And in The Wizard of Lies, Diana B. Henriques of the New York Times has written the definitive and bestselling account of the man and his scheme, drawing on unprecedented access and more than one hundred interviews, including Madoff’s first interviews for publication following his arrest. Henriques provides vivid details from the lawsuits and government investigations that explode the myths that have come to surround the story, and in a revised and expanded epilogue, she unravels the latest legal developments.

A true-life financial thriller―and now a major HBO film starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer―The Wizard of Lies contrasts Madoff’s remarkable rise on Wall Street with dramatic scenes from his accelerating slide toward self-destruction. It is also the most complete account of the heartbreaking personal disasters and landmark legal battles triggered by Madoff’s downfall―the suicides, business failures, fractured families, shuttered charities―and the clear lessons this timeless scandal offers to Washington, Wall Street, and Main Street.

About The Author

Diana B. Henriques is a senior financial writer for The New York Times, where she has led coverage of the Madoff scandal. She is the winner of numerous awards for her reporting on white-collar crime. A bio-pic of the book is in development with HBO Pictures.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Oneworld Publications (August 18, 2011)
  • Length: 448 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781780740430

Browse Related Books

Raves and Reviews

"Henriques… offers a riveting history of Mr Madoff's shady dealings and the shattering consequences of his theft."

– The Economist

‘‘[Henriques] probably knows more than anyone outside the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission about the mechanics of the fraud. As a consequence, in The Wizard of Lies she is able to add significant detail to the story ... Riveting reading ... In the end the story holds us not because of the engrossing details of the scam, but because of the human dimension.’" - Liaquat Ahamed

– New York Times Book Review

"Cogent and well researched, The Wizard of Lies is an engaging narrative… [The book] reveals many moments where Madoff might have been stopped. But his investors were too trusting or too greedy to ask the right questions and US regulators were too cowed and too disorganised."

– Financial Times

"Henriques offers an impressive, meticulously reported postmortem not only of the Ponzi scheme but also of Madoff’s entire career ... The Wizard of Lies is the definitive book on what Madoff did and how he did it."

– Bloomberg BusinessWeek

"[Madoff] is so much like every one of us that failing to recognize this fact will imperil us atevery financial turn. This is one of many revelations in Diana Henriques’ stunning new book."

– Reuters

"A detailed, thrilling insight into the darker side of the world of finance."

– Telegraph

Named one of the "10 best finance books" by Samuel Muston, The Independent

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images