La Brea Bakery founder(noted LA restaurant) lost entire nest egg & kid's educ fund in Madoff scandal

[Liberal_in_LA]

Most in Los Angeles know of La Brea Bakery. They make wonderful bread that's delivered to stores and restaurants around LA.
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A noted restaurateur's recipe for disaster

Instead, after walking away with a profit of more than $5 million from the sale of La Brea Bakery in 2001, Silverton put all of her money in a fund affiliated with a Beverly Hills advisor, who in turn entrusted the funds to Madoff.

"I was silly and I learned a lot," said Silverton, 54, who is an owner of Pizzeria Mozza and its neighboring Osteria Mozza in Hollywood. "I will never not diversify."

Silverton said she learned the bad news from her father when she called him at his office as she was driving up to Napa Valley about two weeks ago.

"He said, 'I want to tell you something. Everything's gone. We lost everything.' "

She was devastated. Silverton said she lost her entire nest egg, including her retirement fund and money she had set aside for her children and their educations.

"I need to reinvent my life," said Silverton, who co-founded the landmark Campanile restaurant and La Brea Bakery with her ex-husband, Mark Peel, and another partner. "To think you have a chunk of money is very comforting. Now, I'm just like 99% of the world. If I had to retire tomorrow, I could not."

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-silverton24-2008dec24,0,2969823.story

[DJ13]

1. Im honestly incapable of felling sorry for these people

They dont give two shits when poor people are financially ruined by the investor class, so we shouldnt feel sorry when the investor class gets financially ruined by one of their own.

[closeupready]

2. If that's true, then I'm sorry you lack empathy for the misfortune of others.

You probably know nothing about her or what she's done with her money, the charitable causes she has helped finance, but somehow, you know that she doesn't care about anyone but herself. :eyes:

[earth mom]

3. I think I'm more angry with the mega rich who manipulated the market-the ones who actually control

things. People with a few million who earned it the hard way, I'm finding it hard not to feel sorry for them.

Now if it were * & Cheney and all of their buddies, I would be partying my a$$ off!

[FloridaJudy]

6. Unfortunately a lot of charities

Who are trying to help the poor got burned. Badly. A lot of them are now having to cut back drastically, and some have had to close their doors.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. yep. We are still learning the extent of the fallout.

[TomInTib]

14. That's an unfortunate line of thought.

I know a lot of people with medium wealth (and, by today's standards, $5mil ain't a ton) who are much more charitable than the people I know who have serious money.

[dysfunctional press]

4. if she invested in a fund affiliated with a beverly hills advisor who gave the funds to made-off...

can't she sue the advisor for restitution?

[kestrel91316]

5. Why would someone as presumably SMART as she is put

quite literally ALL her eggs in one fucking basket?

Oh, well. She can shop at 99c Store like the rest of us now.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. "The returns I saw on paper were so lucrative, I thought, 'I'll take care of it someday"

[jaysunb]

8. I shall not hate.

Especially after losing 60% of my 401k ... and me & the Missus aint in the "investor" class. :evilfrown:

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. 60%! Ouch! Hope your balance bounces back.

[jaysunb]

12. I'm hoping to hit the lotto....LOL

My wife spent 26 years buying and receiving stocks as a bonus from WAMU/Home Savings. Neither of us were paying attention when it began to tank a year after her retirement.
On the hopeful side, we've owned our Pasadena home for awhile and haven't ever refinanced or borrowed against it. The prices are fairly stable here so, maybe, just maybe, if it comes down to it we will at least have a enough money to move to an old folks home. :evilgrin:

[TomInTib]

11. I lost 40% of everything.

And I doubt I will ever make it up.

You'll see me, the old guy in the vest, standing right inside the door.

[jaysunb]

15. WalMart greeter ?

:rofl: ( I laugh to keep from crying)

Can you put in a good word for me?

[TomInTib]

22. I'm not there, yet.

But if the lottery doesn't pan out, that's probably my retirement plan.

Or maybe I'll just take a guitar, head to Fisherman's Wharf.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

13. If you can't afford to lose the money don't gamble it. They could have bought FDIC insured CD's but

they were GREEDY! Sad story, but if they weren't so greedy and settled for protected investments with a smaller return they wouldn't be crying now. Charlie Rich said it best, "That easy money made a fool out of me."

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. I'm astounded by the lack of empathy by some folks on this site

you may be angry with the rich... but lord knows NOT all rich people are greedy bastards, and some of them GIVE TO THE CHARITY ORGANIZATIONS doing the kind of work that needs to be done.

Amazed... truly, May kharma turn and visit you... and turn life into the hell you wish unto others, truly

The difference is, I will feel empathy for you in your disaster...

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

17. Exactly

I just read that the Elie Wiesel foundation lost all of its money in this scam as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elie_Wiesel#Bernard_Madoff_Scandal_Losses

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. Jewish charities in the US, that do a lot of good in and out of the Jewish community

have been devastated by this

There is hyperbole when some Jews compared this to krystalnacht, but the economic impact will be severe.

And it is not just Jewish charities, even the ACLU got hit

[FloridaJudy]

18. My deferred comp tanked as well.

I figure I'll be able to retire sometime after I'm dead. Hurts like hell to see the money you've saved for over twenty-five years go South, while the CEOs on Wall Street are still getting their multi-million dollar bonuses. But at least I'm a nurse: they haven't figured out how to off-shore that yet. We do get a lot of immigrants working as nurses, but even they can't make up for the shortage.

[HelenWheels]

21. Off shoring health care

A lot of people are going to foreign countries for surgery.

[monmouth]

19. Ms. Bettencourt, daughter of and a board member of L'Oreal has

lost millions also...