Some of the multimillionaires who have lost their fortune because of the alleged Bernie Madoff scandal may sell their life insurance policies, according to a report.
Selling their life insurance could be the only way for people hit by the alleged investment scandal in the US to make ends meet, a report has suggested.
The investment company run by Bernie Madoff - which has collapsed following allegations that its boss was running a Ponzi scheme - had customers all over the world, including major banks and charities in the UK. The Clwyd Pension Scheme, which has a customer base centred in north Wales, revealed it has been hit.
However, one of the biggest groups to suffer were moneyed retirees in Palm Beach, Florida who have seen their savings disappear as a result. According to the Palm Beach Post, many are now looking to cash in on their life insurance policies.
Rich people often buy large policies as it means they can lower their estate taxes. They can then, should they need to, sell their policies to investors.
But John Pankauski, an estate lawyer, told the newspaper that there were serious objections to doing so.
"Do you want a third party owning an insurance policy on your life?" he said. "When I've mentioned that to clients, they say: 'Yeah, you're right, I don't want somebody owning a policy that says if I'm dead, they get $10 million.'."
