Madoff’s Gluttonous Competition

In Dante’s fourth circle of hell, we might well find Bernie Madoff—but while he’s the first name that comes to mind when you think of greed these days, he’s up against a lot of competition when measured against the paragons of financial fraud and all-around selfishness over millennia. Remember Genghis? No slouch of avarice. Or Pope Sixtus? Lest you forget, he built his fortune on the backs of brothels.

Bernie and the rest of Wall Street’s recently exiled heavyweights are just the latest in a long line of titans who let greed and excess get the best of them. Here are some stars from that hall of fame…