Ruth Madoff Speaks

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It's no secret that Bernie Madoff doesn't have many friends right now. In fact, newspapers can't seem to write his name without describing him as "disgraced." But what might come as a surprise is that his wife, Ruth, may be even more of a social pariah—not for what she's done, but rather for her silence regarding her husband's tremendous fall from grace.

Mrs. Madoff is aware of the brewing rage directed toward her. On Monday, she released a statement after her husband was sentenced to a staggering 150 years in prison. The statement acknowledged that her silence may have been interpreted as "indifference or lack of sympathy for the victims of my husband Bernie's crime." However, Mrs. Madoff writes that this is "exactly the opposite of the truth." She continues, "Not a day goes by when I don't ache over the stories that I have heard and read."

Still, while Mrs. Madoff hasn't been charged with any crime whatsoever, there are still those who believe it's open season on the Manhattanite. The New York Post recently published an article reporting that Mrs. Madoff was spotted riding a New York subway. Upon being recognized, Mrs. Madoff, obviously annoyed, asked the Post photographer if she was "having fun embarrassing [her]—and ruining [her] life."

But that wasn't the first public awkward moment suffered by Mrs. Madoff. Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that her hair salon, where she used to receive highlights every six weeks, told her not to return. The Times reports that Mrs. Madoff "is viewed as an unrepentant beneficiary of ill-gotten wealth, a petite and well-dressed embodiment of the collective, bloated greed that helped topple the stock market and the housing industry." Whether or not the public scorn is justified seems to be beside the point.

For whatever it's worth (probably not much to the victims of her husband's fraud), Mrs. Madoff has given up her claim to millions of dollars in joint assets. According to an agreement with United States prosecutors, Ruth will be left with $2.5 million. Sounds like a lot of money, but The Wall Street Journal reports that Mrs. Madoff may "still face claims" from government agencies like the SEC and trustees that are liquidating Bernie's assets.

Assuming she invests with a non-crook and isn't hit with more claims, Mrs. Madoff can expect to earn about $125,000 per year on her $2.5 million settlement. Adjusting to life on a fixed income will require a significant change in lifestyle. Still, that's a problem that many of her husband's victims would surely love to have.

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