Reportedly, billionaire oil tycoon Robert Belfer has been impacted by investment fraud in three major scandals: Enron’s corruption, Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and now the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Belfer, 87, has survived multiple financial frauds, including losses of tens of millions from Madoff and billions from Kenneth Lay’s energy company. As reported by the Entrepreneur, Belfer is now at risk of losing a total of $34.5 million in Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency company.
This begs the question: If even wealthy investors with teams of advisors can become victims of fraud, what chance do everyday people have to do any better? The answer is to manage our own personal finances. That doesn’t mean we should never seek professional guidance. It means we should never assume we as unprofessionals are not capable of participation and making decisions on our own behalf….