Show Me The Money!

Where are the Jackson and Madoff Millions?

I don't normally cover the news, just rant at it, but it's been a helluva week, with two particularly big stories. One of them is the death of Michael Jackson, the other is the 150 year sentence doled out to uber-conman and all round shit, Bernie Madoff (I think that's the first Michael Jackson sentence this week not to also feature the phrase 'King of Pop'). I laughed out loud and did a little dance when Madoff was sentenced today, given as much time in prison as I think Lex Luthor got the last time he was up before a judge. Sometimes justice fails you and shakes your faith in it. This was not one of those times. Frankly, for all the harm he's caused, I think they should keep his corpse in its cell until the 150 years is fully served.

Anyway, what connects both these stories? The answer: Money. Specifically, the location of large quantities of it. Both Madoff and Jackson's millions have been talked about a lot, because there are a lot of people with a lot of reasons for wanting some of it. In the case of Jackson, fans who bought tour tickets are wanting their money back, while there's also been media specualtion about his will and then outstanding debts and what the investors and banks are owed. Of course, Jackson's finances and missing millions have been fodder for the media for years, but only now are things coming to a head. In terms of Madoff, his £150 billion + dollar Ponzi-scheme has left millions of people out of pocket or in debt, and understandably they want it back. Question is, where is it? Here no one is quite sure. Such was the complexity and length of his scheme that it seems impossible that any or many will get their hard-earned money back.

And so it seemed apt to draw this cartoon, designed to represent everything I just talked about and has been discussed ad infinitum in the press. Where's the money? No one knows. It may as well be hiding.