Kevin Bacon reflects on Ponzi scheme losses

Last Updated on October 20, 2022

In 2017, Kevin Bacon was one of an estimated 40,000 people defrauded by Bernie Madoff in what was the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Now, he is reflecting on the crime with a positive vibe.

On the October 10th episode of the SmartLess podcast–hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Tracey Hayes (see, Tracey, a Ponzi scheme is an investing scheme…)–Kevin Bacon opened up about being swindled in Bernie Madoff’s infamous Ponzi scheme, which was estimated to be worth around $65 million, a feat not recognized by Guinness. What is, however, is the “most connected actor living”–and it’s not even Kevin Bacon, it’s Harvey Keitel!

Considering Kevin Bacon and his wife Kyra Sedgwick lost millions of dollars in the scheme, the Footloose actor has a remarkably hopeful outlook on the situation. “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…We just rolled up our sleeves.”

The positivity rings through some rather inspirational thoughts. “There’s obvious life lessons there,” Kevin Bacon said. “You know, if something is too good to be true, it’s too good to be true…When something like that happens, you know, you look at each other, then you go, ‘Well, that sucks. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work, you know?”

Getting to work meant that both Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick could recoup some of their losses, which unfortunately was not the case for many. Kevin Bacon was of course not the only major celebrity affected by the scheme. Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and John Maklovich are counted among the victims.

For what it’s worth, Robert De Niro portrayed Bernie Madoff in HBO’s The Wizard of Lies. De Niro co-starred with Kevin Bacon in Sleepers. How many degrees is that?

Kevin Bacon recently appeared in the horror flick They/Them and is currently filming Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley.