Where is Walter Noel now? His private life detailed

Walter Noel was a crucial player in Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, though, similar to others like him, he wasn’t charged for facilitating Bernard’s crimes. Noel, who ran an investment firm dubbed the Fairfield Greenwich Group, had tied up nearly half of more than $14 billion in assets under the firm’s management to Madoff. 

Noel claimed he didn’t know about Madoff’s schemes but was forced to compensate some of the victims of Madoff’s fraud. The argument was that Noel profited from his association with the disgraced investor and, therefore, had to pay compensation. 

Noel is a secretive character who lives in Greenwich, Connecticut

Noel had semi-retired for two years when the 2008 financial crisis exposed Madoff’s crimes. He had handed off day-to-day operations to younger recruits but still went to the office regularly. 

He avoided prison time, but his firm faced years of litigation, including a class-action suit that won a $265 million settlement for Madoff’s victims. As of 2020, the victims were still receiving payments from the judgment. 

Noel, in his early 90s, retreated from public life and currently lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. The community, which once upon a time took pride in Noel’s achievements, shunned him after the scandal broke. 

Noel recently cut ties with New York by selling his two-bedroom apartment at 812 Park Avenue. Crain’s New York reports that Noel used the residence to wine and dine potential investors. He sold the unit for $2.4 million to Jiantao Wang, a managing director with Goldman Sachs.