Philanthropist steps up for Madoff victims

updated 11:48 a.m. ET July 16, 2009

BOSTON - A Massachusetts philanthropist who lost most of his personal fortune in the Bernard Madoff scandal has paid $5 million out of his own pocket to restore the retirement savings of employees who lost money in the multibillion-dollar scam.

Ronald I. Lappin on Wednesday made up for the lost savings of the 60 employees of his company, Shetland Properties Inc., and of his charity, the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation, whose retirement plans were managed by Madoff.

The foundation, which sends Jewish youths to Israel, closed briefly when it lost $8 million in Madoff's pyramid scheme.

Lappin tells The Boston Globe he just wanted to do the right thing.

Lappin says his net worth is less than $10 million, a tenth of what it was before the scandal.

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