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Last update - 09:29 24/12/2008
N.Y. investor kills himself after losing over $1 billion in alleged Madoff scam
By The Associated Press
Tags: Jewish World, Bernie Madoff 

He was a distinguished investor who traced his lineage to the French aristocracy, hobnobbed with members of European high society and sailed
around the world on fancy yachts.

But after losing more than $1 billion of his clients' money to Bernard Madoff, Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet had enough. He locked the door of his Madison Avenue office and apparently swallowed sleeping pills and slashed his wrists with a box cutter, police said.
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A security guard found his body Tuesday morning, next to a garbage can placed to catch the blood.

The bloody scene marked a grisly turn in the Madoff scandal in which money managers and investors were ensnared in an alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

De la Villehuchet is believed to have lost about $1.4 billion to Madoff.

No suicide note was found, said New York Police Department spokesman Paul
Browne.

De la Villehuchet, 65, was an esteemed financier who tapped his upper-crust European connections to attract clients. It was not immediately clear how he knew Madoff or who his clients were.

He grew increasingly subdued after the Madoff scandal broke, drawing suspicion among janitors at his office Monday night when he demanded that they be out of there by 7 p.m. Less than 13 hours later, his body was found.

His death came as swindled investors began looking for ways to recoup their losses. Funds that lost big to Madoff are also facing investor lawsuits and backlash for failing to properly vet Madoff and overlooking red flags that could have steered them away. It's not immediately known what kind of scrutiny de la Villehuchet was facing over his losses.

De la Villehuchet comes from rich French lineage, with the Magon part of his name referring to one of France's most powerful families. The Magon name is even listed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, a monument commissioned by Napoleon in 1806.

"He's irreproachable," said Bill Rapavy, who was Access International's chief operating officer before founding his own firm in 2007.

De la Villehuchet's firm enlisted intermediaries with links to wealthy
Europeans to garner investors. Among them was Phirppe Junot, a French
businessman and friend who is the former husband of Princess Caroline of
Monaco, and Prince Michel of Yugoslavia.

De la Villehuchet, the former chairman and chief executive of Credit Lyonnais Securities USA, was also known as a keen sailor who regularly participated in regattas and was a member of the New York Yacht Club.

He lived in an affluent suburb in Westchester County with his wife, Claudine. They have no children. There was no answer Tuesday at the family's two-story house. Phone calls to the home and de la Villehuchet's office went unanswered.

Guy Gurney, a British photographer living in Connecticut, was friends with de la Villehuchet. The two often sailed together and competed in a regatta in France in November.

He was a very honorable man, Gurney said. He was extraordinarily generous. He was an aristocrat but not a snob. He was a real person. When he was sailing, he was one of the boys.

The two were supposed to have dinner last Friday but Gurney called the day before to cancel because of the weather. But during the call, de la
Villehuchet revealed he had been ensnared in the Madoff scandal.

"He sounded very subdued," Gurney said.

Gurney said de la Villehuchet was happily married to his wife.

"I can't imagine what it's like for her now," he said.

More Jewish World articles:

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  • SPECIAL COVERAGE / Bernard Madoff's $50 billion 'Ponzi scheme'
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      1.   Madoff probably sleeps like a baby at night 10:35  |  Clickfool 24/12/08
      2.   Okay 10:37  |  Angel 24/12/08
      3.   NY investor kills himself 11:00  |  disgusted 24/12/08
      4.   a tragedy 11:59  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 24/12/08
      5.   a tale of money and greed 12:22  |  Justine 24/12/08
      6.   to angel #2 12:28  |  El_Justiciero 24/12/08
      7.   clickfool resembles the women outside the 13:18  |  brighton rock 24/12/08
      8.   #4 Cipora Julianna Kohn, there will always be Madoff`s 13:21  |  Mark B. 24/12/08
      9.   to Clickfool 13:40  |  Harry 24/12/08
      10.   Clickfool # 1. 13:57  |  David Nigel Braham 24/12/08
      11.   De la Villehuchet 13:57  |  Joe 24/12/08
      12.   to bad but he was a worlfdclass investor, why did he not see this 14:13  |  r 24/12/08
      13.   Penalise Madoff, but what about the rest of the scum? 15:24  |  Proud Israeli 24/12/08
      14.   Whole Capital;is system reverted to scams like 15:52  |  Puzzled Observer 24/12/08
      15.   To: El Justiciero 18:10  |  Angel 24/12/08
      16.   Investing in the US stockmarket is stupidity ! 20:47  |  Boris 24/12/08
      17.   Manslaughter 21:49  |  Maz Mann 24/12/08
      18.   The ugly side of capitalism. 22:12  |  John 24/12/08
      19.   It`s good old fashion capitalism 23:19  |  chelemer 24/12/08
      20.   Re No 18: The ugly side of capitalism 02:12  |  Aron 25/12/08
      21.   Fractured egos and loss of self esteem 02:45  |  Anonymous 25/12/08
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