Nov 10, 2009 2:52 pm US/Eastern
Madoff Associate Gives Bulk Of Fortune To Charity
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Financier Bernard Madoff arrives at Manhattan Federal court on March 12, 2009, in New York City.
Stephen Chernin/Getty Images
A philanthropist who made billions of dollars off Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme signed a will leaving the bulk of his fortune to charity.
Jeffry Picower drowned after suffering a heart attack in the swimming pool of his Palm Beach, Fla. mansion in October.
Unlike other Madoff investors, he died a rich man. The trustee unraveling Madoff's financial web says Picower withdrew $7 billion from his Madoff accounts over the decades.
Most of his multibillion dollar fortune would go to set up a new charitable foundation. His widow and daughter would also get a combined $225 million.
Picower was found by his wife, Barbara, at the
bottom of a pool. She pulled him from the water with help from a
housekeeper. He died a short time later at a nearby hospital.
His widow says the family wishes to return some of those profits
to Madoff's victims, but her husband's will also outlines other giving.
Dr. Michael Bell, chief medical examiner for Palm Beach County, said
Monday the death has been ruled accidental and the heart attack was
brought on by heart disease. Toxicology test are pending.
In a lawsuit to recover Madoff's assets, trustee Irving Picard
demanded Picower return more than $7 billion in bogus profits. Picard
has said the litigation could continue.
The 71-year-old Madoff pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges that his secretive investment advisory operation was a multibillion-dollar scam. The former Nasdaq chairman was sentenced to 150 years in prison on June 29, 2009.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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