5 People Who the World Thought Were Crazy But Were Right All Along
Five stories of real-life Cassandras. In Greek mythology, Cassandra was the daughter of the last king of Troy, Priam, and his wife Hecuba. She was cursed by the Greek god Apollo that no one would believe her prophecies. [1][2]
#1. Harry Markopolos
Markopolos was a financial analyst and portfolio manager at Rampart Investment Management, a Boston-based options trader. Markopolos was tasked with developing a product that replicates Bernie Madoff’s returns. Bernie Madoff was one of the most respected names on Wall Street and at that time was running the largest hedge fund in the world.
After looking through Madoff’s financial statements, Markopolos spotted several red flags. The biggest red flag was that Madoff’s return on investment rose continuously at a nearly perfect 45-degree angle. According to Markopolos, the financial market is too volatile for this kind of return to be possible. He further elaborated that it was impossible for Madoff’s strategy to work as he would have had to acquire more options on…
