Bernard Madoff, the Condiment
He’s been bad for the Jews and catastrophic for American capitalism, but perhaps Bernard Madoff might make a good condiment. The world’s most loathed alleged Ponzi schemer — reportedly responsible for losing $50 billion of investors’ money — has inspired a hot sauce in his very own name and image.
Bernie in Hell, a five-ounce bottle of Habanero-style hot sauce, can now be ordered online for $10 a container, and arrives labeled with the face of the con artist – adorned with flames and horns – and instructions urging consumers to “shakedown before using.”
New York City artist Alex Gardega writes on his Web site that he was inspired to create the product after watching a television report about a 75-year-old who lost his entire retirement savings in Madoff’s alleged fraud. At texasketchup, visitors can write in with their own tales of woe at the financier’s hands or purchase a bottle or more of hot sauce.
Filled with Habanero Hell! hot sauce, Bernie in Hell bottles challenge consumers with a question Madoff himself might currently be pondering: “You can take the money, but can you take the heat!?!”
A purchase of five bottles gets the buyer a sixth bottle free — an even better rate of return than the percentages promised by Madoff before his arrest.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30