The Real Cost Of Being Ruth Madoff

A recent New York Times piece proclaimed Ruth Madoff "the loneliest woman in New York." And while the article delves into the life of the Madoff family, post-Bernard, it also offers a voyeuristic look at the lifestyle of a wealthy wife to a Ponzi schemer. The article mentions the many services, meals, and products Ruth once enjoyed—which, of course, are now denied to her as a pariah.

Forsaken favorites mentioned include meals at the ritzy Bella Blu restaurant and the $1,200-a-month gym membership she enjoyed at her neighborhood Equinox. But while the article alludes to Ruth's flashy lifestyle, other parts don't calculate the sheer amount of cash it takes to be a Madoff. Let's examine these price points—because we're not the sensitive souls the Times has on staff:

She used to get foil highlights every six weeks ... but the last time she called her Manhattan salon, Pierre Michel on East 57th Street, she was told not to return.

Foil highlights at Pierre Michel Salon: $200 and up. Although I suspect, in this case, that "highlight" might be a generous term for what Ruth does to her hair. Her locks appear all-flaxen—a look that is difficult to achieve through highlights alone. Blond hair takes more maintenance than brunette, and her dye job appears impeccable. I'm going to estimate her color runs $280 per trip or higher.

Asked if she would accept Mrs. Madoff again as a client, Beth Eckhardt, who runs Amagansett Flowers by Beth on Long Island, said: "Are you kidding? No way!"

This price point is harder to guess, because Eckhardt's Web site doesn't provide estimates on any floral purchase—from wedding flowers to simple bouquets. Then again, when a Web site doesn't provide any suggestion of its products' cost, that's usually a sign that it's really expensive.

The article mentions that the Madoffs relied on Eckhardt's business for "annual corporate party," for which the favored bouquet of choice included "lismachia, Queen Anne's lace and thistles." To settle on a rough cost estimate, I called a comparable company, East Hampton Florsits. Assuming Madoff Securities LLC employed about 200 people and each of those people brought a guest, the party size would approach 400. Between table arrangements, doorway fixtures, and the occasional accent bouquet, East Hampton florist Micahel Lucci estimates their flowers would have cost between $4,300 and $5,200.

This figure is actually rather modest for a party of that size and location, Lucci said. Had Ruth selected orchids, for example, the cost could have tripled. "Pretty boring arrangements, if you ask me," said Lucci. "Queen Anne's lace grows wild in the middle of summer by the side of the road."