Ruth Madoff | |
---|---|
Born | Ruth Alpern 18 May 1941 Queens, New York, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Queens College - (Bachelor's degree) |
Occupation | Businesswoman, wife of Bernard Madoff |
Years active | 1960–present |
Partner | Bernard Madoff (m. 1959) |
Children | Mark (ca. 1964–2010) Andrew (b. 1966) |
Ruth Madoff (née Alpern; born May 18, 1941) is an American businesswoman and the wife of Bernard Madoff.
Madoff was born in Queens, New York City, New York. She has a sister, Joan. Madoff graduated from Far Rockaway High School in 1958. Following her graduation from Queens College,[1][2] she worked in the stock market.
On November 28, 1959, she married Bernard Madoff,[3] whom she had met while attending Far Rockaway High School. The two eventually began dating.
Bernard and Ruth Madoff had two sons: Mark (March 11, 1964-December 11, 2010),[4] a 1986 graduate of the University of Michigan, and Andrew (born April 8, 1966),[5] a 1988 graduate of University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School.[6][7] On the morning of December 11, 2010—exactly two years after Bernard's arrest—Mark was found dead in his New York City apartment. The city medical examiner ruled the cause of death as suicide by hanging.[8][9][10]
According to a March 13, 2009, filing by Madoff, he and his wife were worth up to $126 million, plus an estimated $700 million for the value of his business interest in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.[11] Other major assets included securities ($45 million), cash ($17 million), half-interest in BLM Air Charter ($12 million), a 2006 Leopard yacht ($7 million), jewelry ($2.6 million), Manhattan apartment ($7 million), Montauk home ($3 million), Palm Beach home ($11 million), Cap d' Antibes, France property ($1 million), and furniture, household goods, and art ($9.9 million).
During a 2011 interview on CBS, Ruth stated that she and her husband had attempted suicide after his fraud was exposed, both taking "a bunch of pills" in a suicide pact on Christmas Eve 2008.[12]