Look back at Bernie Madoff's most high-profile victims
Thousands of clients invested their money with the former investor
Bernie Madoff has died in a federal prison
Bernie Madoff, who orchestrated the largest ponzi scheme in history, has passed away in federal prison at 82 years old.
Bernie Madoff, former American investor and fraudster, died Wednesday at Butner FCI federal prison due to natural causes, a spokesman for the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed to Fox News.
Madoff, 82, was arrested in 2009 for his role in orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme. He sentenced to 150 years in prison in 2009, according to the Justice Department.
BERNIE MADOFF, MASTERMIND OF VAST PONZI SCHEME, DIES IN FEDERAL PRISON AT AGE 82
Madoff filed a motion for early release in 2020 and was denied.
"Last year Bernie Madoff asked his sentencing court to grant him compassionate release so he could die at home with his remaining friends and family," Brandon Sample, one of Madoff's attorneys, said in a statement to Fox Business. "At the time, Bernie had a life expectancy of less than 18 months. Bernie’s sentencing judge denied that request, despite Bernie’s terminal kidney disease and expressed remorse for his crimes."
He continued:"Today, Bernie Madoff passed away at the age of 82. Bernie, up until his death, lived with guilt and remorse for his crimes. Although the crimes Bernie was convicted of have come to define who he was—he was also a father and a husband. He was soft spoken and an intellectual. Bernie was by no means perfect. But no man is."
The former investor faced 11 charges including securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, false statements, perjury, false SEC filings and theft from an employee benefit plan.
Madoff deceived a number of high-profile victims, including:
Former Walt Disney Studios Chairman and WndrCo managing partner Jeffrey Katzenberg
Katzenberg lost millions as a result of Madoff-related financial dealings through Hollywood financial adviser Gerald Breslauer, who himself suffered heavy losses related to Madoff's scheme, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Dreamworks Animation president Jeffrey Katzenberg arrives at the 85th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, February 24, 2013. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson )
Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel
Wiesel invested more than $15 million with Madoff through his nonprofit The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. The nonprofit, which is "rooted in the memory of the Holocaust," seeks to combat "indifference." The organization said it invested "substantially all" of its assets with Madoff, WSJ reported.
Actor Kevin Bacon and actress Kyra Sedgwick
Bacon and Sedgwick lost an undisclosed amount as a result of his Madoff-related financial dealings.
Nobel Peace laureate Elie Wiesel, founder of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, delivers a speech at the Second Petra Conference of Nobel Laureates. (Photo credit should read KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images)
Former radio and TV host Larry King
King lost an undisclosed amount as a result of his Madoff-related financial dealings.
Director Steven Spielberg
Spielberg's Wunderkinder Foundation charity also lost an undisclosed amount as a result of Madoff-related financial dealings through Breslauer, WSJ reported in 2009.
Filmmaker Steven Spielberg arrives for the Premiere Of Universal Pictures And Amblin Entertainment's "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom." (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
Former Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman
Braman lost an undisclosed amount as a result of his Madoff-related financial dealings.
Actor John Malkovich
Malkovich lost an undisclosed amount as a result of his Madoff-related financial dealings.
John Malkovich at a voice over recording session for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfares "Exo Zombies." (Photo by Paul Marotta/Getty Images for Activision)
Former Sen. Frank Lautenberg
The former Democratic New Jersey senator's charity, the Lautenberg Foundation, had invested nearly $12.8 million with Madoff, The Hill reported in 2009, citing IRS filings.
Hungarian actress Zsa Zsa Gábor
Gábor, who died in 2016, may have lost as much as $10 million in Madoff-related investments.
Billionaire businessman Ira Rennert
Rennert, a former friend of Maddoff, also reportedly lost as much as $200 million related to the scheme, according to Fortune Magazine.
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The scheme began in the early 1970s and, by the time Madoff was arrested in December 2008, had defrauded as many as 37,000 people in 136 countries out of up to $65 billion.
FOX Business' Megan Henney contributed to this report.