Kevin Bacon Lost His Fortune to Bernie Madoff—Says Pain Was 'Excruciating,' But Love with Kyra Sedgwick Saved Them
Kevin Bacon has recently shared insights into the recovery journey he and his wife, Kyra Sedgwick, undertook following their victimization by Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. During a conversation with Esquire about his upcoming Prime Video series, The Bondsman, published on Friday, April 4, the 66-year-old actor reflected on the effects of the financial fraud on his family. Madoff, a financier, admitted guilt to 11 felony charges, including fraud, money laundering, making false statements, and perjury in 2009.
Kevin Bacon Opens Up About Financial Recovery After Madoff Scandal
"There's not that much to say, really," Bacon said, when asked whether he was open to discussing Madoff. "If it seems too good to be true, then it’s too good to be true." When the interviewer noted that he and Sedgwick, 59, do not appear "too jaded from the experience," the actor responded, "No, not jaded. More careful. But not jaded."
"More Careful, But Not Jaded": Bacon Reflects on Life After Losing Millions
"I go to this gym. It has a few machines and only a handful of people there at any given time. There’s no showers, it’s very bare bones," he added. "But there’s a leg press machine. A leg press can be brutal. . . The machine is right next to a window, and when I look out that window, I’m looking right at the building where Madoff was."
From Leg Press Pain to Financial Strain: How Bacon and Sedgwick Moved On from Madoff
Kevin Bacon Says Losing Fortune to Madoff 'Sucked'—But Love with Kyra Sedgwick Got Them Through
Bacon compared the "excruciating pain" he experiences while using the leg press and gazing at the building that housed Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities to the anguish he felt upon discovering that he and Sedgwick had fallen victim to the Ponzi scheme, which was estimated to amount to approximately $64.8 billion.
"It’s perfect, in a funny way, because I also have to think, I can get through this. And that’s how we felt about Madoff," he said. "It sucked, and we were certainly angry and all the things. But then we woke up the next day and said, 'What do we got? We love each other. We love our children. We’re healthy. No one took away our ability to make a living.' So we got back to work."
Madoff passed away in prison at the age of 82 in April 2021, while serving a 150-year sentence that commenced in July 2009. According to a report at the time of his death, filmmaker Steven Spielberg was one of the prominent figures in Hollywood who fell victim to the scheme, recognized as the largest in U.S. history.
Bacon has discussed the effects of the Ponzi scheme on both himself and Sedgwick in the past. During a 2022 episode of the SmartLess podcast, he revealed that he and Sedgwick "had most of our money in Madoff," although he did not specify the amount involved. "There are clear life lessons to be learned — if something seems too good to be true, it probably is," he remarked at that time. Bacon's series, The Bondsman, is currently available for streaming on Prime Video.
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