Academic

An Auction as a Sign of the Times

By Gordon Smith, Christine, Hurt, Vic Fleischer, Fred Tung, Lisa Fairfax, David Zaring

Yesterday I found a flyer among my mail for an auction ?from a family member whose family was victimized by the Bernie Madoff Scam??with Bernie Madoff Scam in large bold letters. According to the flyer, the auction is going to feature a ?huge portfolio of investment grade art? complete with a ?large Salvador Dali collection? and ?large carat estate jewelry.? The link to Bernie Madoff is likely to have many different results?some of them positive from the stand point of the auction. Indeed, it may cause some to come who are still curious about the Bernie Madoff scandal, and thus interested in being around a family (or at least their art) that has been caught up in the scandal. And once there, perhaps the curious will be moved to bid and purchase. The link also may increase the likelihood that others will bid and purchase based on their desire to help out those apparently forced to auction their assets as a result of being scammed. Regardless of the result, the flyer?like the USAA ad?caught my eye (and not because I am in the market for estate jewelry or art). But rather because it demonstrates in a personal way how individuals, even in my own neighborhood, have been negatively impacted by the Bernie Madoff scam and are suffering because of it, while showing how those individuals are using that scandal, if only in a small way, and thus trying to turn lemons into lemonade.

Full post as published by Conglomerate on August 26, 2009 (boomark / email).