Bernie Madoff’s wife tells ’60 Minutes’ they attempted suicide

Desperate times call for desperate measures, indeed.

Ruth Madoff, the wife of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff said she and her husband tried to kill themselves after he claimed responsibility in the largest Ponzi scheme in history.

Madoff’s wife will appear on ’60 Minutes’ this Sunday. It will be her first interview since her husband’s arrest in 2008. The couple’s son Andrew will also speak out about the experience.

Madoff is currently serving 150 years in prison for stealing billions of dollars.

Ruth Madoff said she and her husband took “a bunch of pills” including Ambien on Christmas Eve but that they both woke up the next morning.

She described the decision as “very impulsive” and said she is glad they did not die.

“I don’t know whose idea it was, but we decided to kill ourselves
because it was so horrendous what was happening,” Ruth Madoff told ’60 Minutes.’

The Madoff family is unfortunately no stranger to suicide as the couple’s other son, Mark, killed himself last year.

Watch ’60 Minutes’ on CBS Sunday for the full interview.