Suicide: Hedge Fund Manager Who Invested $1.4 Billion In Madoff Scheme Found Dead
A hedge fund manager, Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, who invested $1.4 billion in Madoff's $50billion Ponzi scheme was found dead by apparent, movie-style, suicide.
He was found with wounds to his arms, with one leg propped up on the desk and a trash can nearby to catch blood....When security opened the door Tuesday morning, they found Mr. de la Villehuchet, with cuts to his arm, wrist and his bicep apparently made with a box cutter. No suicide note was found, and while pills were present, it is unknown if Mr. de la Villehuchet had ingested them.
Shocking, eh? Well, get inured to it. 2009 is going to be full of shit like this as all the funny money you used to be able to push around to hide scams continues to evaporate.
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I wish I had that kind of money to do stupid shit with.
That is really sad. I don't care how much money someone loses, taking one's own life is a terrible decision that haunts the family of the victim much longer than the loss of a job or even prison time.
Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet? I couldn't even afford a name that long...
@dakotad555: you don't understand why people want to kill themselves then. this is sad for his family, but you have to be so far beyond hopeless to really go for an actual suicide attemtp. there is something to be said for still wanting to live and the loss of that want is arguably the most devasting and desperate feelings an individual can have. the idea that it will never get better and you can't bear it any more.
i feel bad for his family, but as long as they continue to choose to live, they have never felt as bad as he did.
This is the first suicide as a result of this scam but certainly not the last.
Frankly, I wouldn't be suprised if one of these billionaires ordered a hit against Madoff
I hope he was wearing adult undergarments. He went through all the trouble of making sure there was no mess by using the trashcan, it'd be a shame if he ruined his pants, the chair, and possibly the carpet underneath.
@homerjay wants Boston Legal back!:
Only as painful as the cuts. If you really want we could sit here all evening thinking of more painful ways to die than that.
@Liam Kinkaid: If he went to the bathroom first, then there would be no mess. As long as his external sphincters are not holding anything back, all is well.
INAL, but can they charge Madoff with this? I'd be happy if they just dragged him out of his penthouse and sent him someplace like Maricopa County or regular Gen Pop.
@SWAK_GitEmSteveDave loves->★: Well, yeah, you know. If I'm gonna lose money in a scam, mightaswell be someone else's.
While I'm at it, I might as well make it bailout money, too. Then it'd be, like, the king of evil investments or something.
@Liam Kinkaid: That is tasteless, crude, and morbid. Then again if "movie-style suicide" is mentioned in the post, I guess its alright!
Signs of the times. Tragic.
@katylostherart: I disagree. suicide is a very selfish and personal decision, often made impulsively, and when successful, has no chance for regret. it will be different for everyone. the people left behind do suffer, arguably as much as the person taking his life. they suffer differently, but can suffer as much.
I'm not saying that you're wrong, but there is more than one perspective to have here.
here's to hoping that more people would have the presence of mind enough to recognize and seek help, or to give it if they are in a position to do so.
Only the naive will think this is an actual suicide.. More like a "make it look like a suicide"
Must have some German in him. The Japanese have got it right.
@TechnoDestructo: Sounds like my idea of a fun evening.
Burning.
Hanging.
Gut shot.
Being dissolved by acid, one random drop at a time.
Certain poisons, especially Irukandji venom.
@hmk:
or in some cases it can be done for honor. if he had lost all his families/friends money because he pushed madow's scheme on them then he would be taking responsibility for it in a very real way.
@Justifan: that still does not make suicide acceptable. not in our society. I would call that cowardly and sad, not honorable. seeking the ultimate escape from your problems, leaving everyone else to deal with it? not honorable. misguided honor, at best.
@HungryTuna: And that's the big question. Does Madoff die from his own hand or does someone else get him first?
the way the arm is being cut, it sounds like he was being tortured to dead. with 1.2 billions lost, I am not surprised that some of the money came from underworld. I think the reason Madoff blows this thing wide open is that he knows that he will be killed if he tries to run. The only way to stay alive temporarily is seeking gov't protection. I don't think anyone who lost that much on other people's money can still get out alive.
I agree - NOTHING can be so bad that you forfeit your life.
Maybe he couldn't face having to shop at Walmart for the rest of his life with the rest of us peons, but tough beans. Suck it up.
Suicide is so pointlessly selfish.
@SWAK_GitEmSteveDave loves->★: I think he was more saying he wished he had that kinda money, period. 1.5 billion dollars is pretty unfathomable to most people.
Razors pain you,
drugs cause cramp,
Acids stain you
Rivers are damp.
Guns are unlawful,
Nooses give,
gas smells awful
You might as well live
-Dorothy Parker
It needs repeating:
Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
I dont care how bad the economy is, call me when the suicides start and then I'll freak out.
Oh, shit!
@Hands: anyone so selfish to perpetrate a scam like this, against largely charitable institutions, is too selfish to kill themself. unfortunately his life probably won't be too bad. he'll spend the next few years fighting this in court, largely living a normal life otherwise, and then will spend his last 20 years in a country club jail. not much different than an upscale nursing home and at taxpayer's expense
@hmk: Only problem is, in our society no one wants to hear how your "sad because you lost billions of dollars". There is a major division between the rich and the not rich and the knife cuts both ways.
It doesnt get any sadder, more desperate, selfish than suicide. If you love your loved ones you cant leave them behind, not like that.
It's only money. It sucks he lost a lot of it, but in the end he only lost paper. He'd probably lose his job but he could find another probably doing something less stressful.
What a waste
@hmk: i see wanting someone to live and suffer as just as selfish. sometimes you just can't help, and telling someone to stick around when they're that in pain or that miserable is just cruel.
someone i know recently killed themselves and someone else i know was put on suicide watch. the person that succeeded killed himself because of things like this. everything was going down in his life and he was absolutely miserable. the second person is near crippled and in physical pain constantly. i can't begrudge either of them their deaths. i get more pissed at people who kill themselves by accident honestly...
@karlsl: "don't think anyone who lost that much on other people's money can still get out alive."
So I take it you havnt been paying attention to AIG, Lehman Brothers, The Big Three, Enron, WorldCom, The US Government...?
There are cases in which someone is suffering due to a physical ailment; I can totally see suicide as a viable alternative to bankrupting your family or continuing to live in pain.
But this guy's suicide doesn't sadden me in the least. For him, it was a permanent solution to a temporary problem. And completely selfish.
Uhmm, guys, I'm all about your irreverent writing style and all, but 'movie-style suicide'? 'Shocking, eh? Well, get inured to it. 2009 is going to be full of shit'?
Somebody died in what sounds like pretty damn tragic circumstances to me - a bit of respect?
@hmk: you do realize dead people don't suffer right?
Anyways all this "suicide is selfish" is BS, it's just as selfish to force people to live (i.e imprisonment).
Even further in our society its wrong to speak ill of the dead. So keep throwing that "our society" mentality all you want.
Interestingly, RTMdelaV was trying to diversify his portfolio for many years but couldn't find any other instrument that performed as well... #1 clue that something was rotten in the state of hedge funds and #2 a clue that RTMdelaV was essentially a lazy investor.
Frankly, if I was a financial expert in charge of multiple billions of dollars in investment and *could not* find any other investment vehicle that compared, I'd get a little suspicious. No, wait, I'd get VERY suspicious. Sounds like RTMdelaV probably knew more than he let on. Suicide was an honorable choice in this instance.
You folks seem pretty smart. But if you think this rich spawn of Satan and those like him didn't know what was going on in Maddows little scheme, well..... Frankly I'm looking forward to these agents of darkness being wiped from the Earth, especially Maddow.
Sad? Sad are the hunderds of thousands of pensioners around the world that where bilked out of their life savings by scumbags like this guy. We need more of these people killing themseleves not less. Everyopne gets "sad" when a milionaire dies. What about the guy that worked hard his whole life to save a few pennies who got just flat our robbed. Nobody even says a word when they go out to their garages and suck down their car exhaust.
Assholes like "suicide guy with a self important french name that noone can even pronounce" are responsible for the destruction of the middle class in this country. He got of easy!
@katylostherart: The way I see it, taking your own life in a situation like this is an easy way out. You have no concern for the others affected by your decision and the repercussions of what you may have done. Life (and family) is precious, regardless of how bad you might feel - learn to make amends with yourself (and others if necessary) and live your life. There is help out there for those in need of it. I do believe that it is a bit different situation if you have a terminal condition or something like that.
Though I think it's just incredibly sad that people kill themselves over money, this guy is culpable too. A savvy investment banker would surely have known that Madoff's returns did not come through honest investing. Frenchman just assumed it was a "perk" of Madoff's long service in NASDAQ.
Let's face it: every single investor in Madoff who knew anything about investing KNEW or SHOULD HAVE KNOWN that their money was not being invested in an honest way. They just assumed it was through insider trading or something (yeah, get a load of that! they didn't care about illegalities so long as it was other people getting screwed).
What has SHOCKED them is that it turned out to be a classic Ponzi scheme.
Boo-hoo.
@GorillaEmperorOfEarth: why isn't mental illness considered a terminal condition? even acute mental distress.
I've seen what happens with a long protracted illness to family members and I hate to say it but sometimes a quick surprise or sudden death would be more merciful to all parties involved .
I mean not to diminish death but with a sudden death you are forced to deal with it on the spot .But there aren't as many could of would of should ofs .It's done ,it's over with for many .
Again,not to diminish life but let's face everybody's life has a peak ,after that it's all down hill .For some when they leave high school as far as they are concerned life is over for others it's over after their grand children have grown up or they have great grand kids .
Isn't that one of the most painful ways to die? Thats awful....