Bernie Madoff’s luxury lifestyle revealed

If you've ever wondered how the other half live, here are the wages of sin: documents filed by convicted fraudster Bernard Madoff's lawyers show that he and his wife's wealth is put at $823m - though $700m of that is attributed to his business, for which there are said to be potential buyers. Madoff and his wife Ruth also owned four houses - in Manhattan, the Hamptons, Palm Beach and the Cote d'Azur - worth some $19m.

To bring a little fun to their lives, the couple had several yachts, including one valued at $8.5m and berthed in the South of France. The skipper of that yacht was paid $5,600 a month, while the captain of their yacht in Florida pocketed $5,250 a month.

Less well paid was their Manhattan housekeeper at $2,860 a month. She, no doubt, had to look after the $65,000 worth of silverware in the Madoffs' Manhattan apartment, which also contained some of the $10m worth of artworks and furniture the pair owned.

The couple have $45m of municipal bonds and $17m in the bank, most of it Mrs Madoff's, and a half-share in an aeroplane valued at $12m. Not that the Madoffs were spendthrifts; they splurged only $70 a month on entertainment at home. Perhaps the pair made their own fun by playing duets on their $39,000 Steinway. It's doubtful there is a piano in his cell.