You called it. In our Financial Villain of the Decade poll, SmartMoney readers declared Bernard Madoff the hands-down winner out of a field of nine. Given his notoriety, perhaps, that’s hardly an upset. However, the thousands of you who participated did surprise us with your write-in candidate, Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.): He grabbed enough votes to beat out the likes of imprisoned WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers and Enron poster boy Kenneth Lay.
The survey kicked off our Poll of the Decade series, which will ask readers to weigh in on the people, institutions and decisions that impacted the world of finance—and the economy—over the last 10 years. In the coming days, we will solicit your opinions on topics such as Biggest Financial Blunders of the Decade and Biggest Financial Heroes of the Decade and will share the results. (Visit our homepage today to vote for Investment of the Decade.)
In all, 37% of you chose Madoff, who of course has come to symbolize the rampant greed and unchecked financial markets that propelled the economic meltdown. The disgraced financier pleaded guilty in March to operating a vast, multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme, and is serving a 150-year sentence in federal prison in Butner, N.C. Meanwhile, many have been riveted by the dismantling of his estate, which saw his Long Island beach house auctioned off in October for $9.41 million. And as the investigation into Madoff's scheme drags on, former clients continue to search for any assets to offset their losses.
Though much of the media spotlight has focused on Madoff, and on exorbitantly paid Wall Street bankers and CEOs, it is clear in our poll that readers feel politicians share the blame for the financial crisis.
In all, 25% of readers believe Frank is the most egregious financial scoundrel of the decade. Readers criticized Frank, who serves as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, for supporting the easing of mortgage standards, and for failing to reform government-created Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those companies owned or guaranteed more than half of the U.S. mortgage market by 2008, and were hobbled by the subprime mortgage crisis. Frank was not immediately available for comment.
“I was torn between Barney Frank, emblematic of the politicians responsible for the R/E bubble, and Alan Greenspan, who could have deflated the bubble early on, thus eliminating the problem while it was relatively ‘cheap’ to do so,” wrote reader LCannon1946.
Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan nabbed 17% of the vote. Five percent of the votes went to former Enron CEO Lay. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson tied with 4% of the vote. Former Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Mozilo grabbed 3%, as did Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. A mere 1% voted for Bernard Ebbers. “Paulson and Bernanke are to blame for this economy collapse,” wrote Wantana2. “They started the TARP funds, using the scare tactic that put President Bush in a panic state.”
Though he didn’t make it into the poll, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.), who serves as Senate Banking Committee chairman, also got a nod from readers. “Dodd + Frank = VILLAINS,” posted Spalusa. And even President Barack Obama couldn’t escape a few nominations. According to reader Frogigger, the Obama administration has wasted “more money than one man and a D-10 Cat could bury in a hole in 10 years time.”
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