What The Wives Of Bernie Madoff's Sons Are Doing Today
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Bernie Madoff's $20 billion Ponzi scheme deeply affected thousands of victims, especially those closest to him. His wife, Ruth Madoff, who was allegedly left in the dark, was ostracized by the New York social scene, while their sons, Mark and Andrew, who turned their father into the FBI after he fessed up to his kids, both suffered a tragic fate.
Two years to the day after Madoff was arrested in 2008 on allegations of fraud, Mark died by suicide on Dec. 11, 2010, at the age of 46. His wife Stephanie Mack was on vacation at the time and he wrote her an email asking her to have someone "take care of Nick," their then-2-year-old son who was in his care at the time of his death, per People. In addition to his wife and son, he left behind his daughter Aubrey and his two other children from his previous marriage to his ex-wife Susan Elkin.
As for Andrew, he died of mantle cell lymphoma in September 2014 at the age of 48. He was engaged to Catherine Hooper at his time of death since 2008, however, he never officially divorced his wife Deborah Anne West, whom he shared two daughters with, per The New York Times, despite separating in 2007 (via People).
A lot has happened since the brothers left behind their wives and children. Keep scrolling to see what they are up to today.
Life hasn't been easy for the wives since Andrew and Mark's deaths
In the wake of the deaths of Andrew and Mark Madoff, their wives were left to deal with the fallout of father-in-law Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. In a 2012 lawsuit to help pay back Madoff's victims, Mark's ex-wife, Susan Elkin, was sued for $2.4 million, and his widow, Stephanie Mack, for $27.5 million, while Andrew's ex-wife, Deborah Madoff, was sued for $27.7 million, according to the LA Times. However, the three women were dropped from the suit "under confidential terms," per The Philadelphia Inquirer. In 2017, the sons' estate reached an agreement with U.S. government, and they handed over $23 million to victims affected by the scheme, leaving Mark's family with $1.75 million and Andrew's with $2 million.
As for Andrew's fiancée Catherine Hooper, she was allegedly supposed to get a cut of the $16 million in his will, but the funds were tied up in lawsuits pertaining to the Ponzi scheme. "I downsized my life completely and sold nearly everything I own including the engagement ring that Andrew gave me," she told People in May 2017, revealing she and her daughter sleep in bunk beds in a 500 square-foot apartment. "the adjustment in lifestyle is completely insignificant compared to the pain of losing him."
Asides from Hooper, Stephanie Mack previously shared her story in a 2011 memoir, however, she and the rest of the family have tried to move on and have stayed out of the spotlight since.