Could the missing $50 billion be hidden in accounts overseas?

Since his December 11 arrest, Bernard Madoff has been holed up in his $7 million Upper East Side penthouse in Manhattan. Federal investigators, on the other hand, have beens scrambling to figure out what he did with the millions of dollars in Ponzi profits. Investigators now believe that Madoff put hundreds of millions of dollars into offshore tax havens, from which they could prove quite difficult to receover.

Forensics accountants have been scouring the books as the feds work on an indictment against Madoff. According to the Observer in London, the accountants now believe that Madoff regularly send bundles of money to offshore accounts in Europe and the Caribbean.

Tracking down the estimated $50 billion that he is accused of running off with has already begun to give indication that this will be one of the longest and most complicated financial investigations on record.

The financial meltdown in the United States has already wiped out more than $2 trillion from America's retirement accounts, and that's only been in the past 15 months. As the economy continues to worsen, slipping into a recession, many Americans are buckling down and bracing for hard times. However, the message seems not to have gotten to everyone.

The Dow lost another 3% today in trading as forecasts for the future remained grim. Over the past week the Down is down 10%, and down 30% from last year's peak. Top congressional budget analyst Peter Orszag said Tuesday that these figures translate into a $2 trillion loss from pension plans in the past 15 months.

Meanwhile, congressional investigators also revealed that less than a week after receiving an $85 billion federal bailout, a group of top American International Group executives went to an exclusive beach resort for a week, quickly blowing through $440,000.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif) said, "The federal bailout occurred on Sept. 16. Less than one week later, AIG held a week-long retreat for company executives at the exclusive St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach, California."

Invoices from the trip showed that AIG's bill included $150,000 for banquets, $200,000 on room fees, $23,000 in spa charges, and $7,000 in greens fees.

Here's one for the history books - IndyMac Bancorp, the bank began by Countrywide founder Angelo Mozilowhich, is no more. Federal regulators seized the California bank on Monday, citing not the subprime mortgage industry mess as the cause of the bank's demise, but Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY). So just how does one man cause the downfall of a multi-billion dollar bank?

Schumer recently criticized the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTC) for allowing banks to underwrite shoddy mortgages. Specifically, he mentioned that IndyMac could be in trouble. Following his criticism, depositors began a run on the bank, withdrawing up to $100 million per day from their accounts.

John Reich, director of the OTC, issued this statement, blaming Senator Schumer:

“The senator made comments in his letter questioning the viability of the institution. When a member of the United States Senate makes such a statement, it frightens depositors.”

To the OTC's statement, Schumer himself responded:

"If OTS had done its job as regulator and not let IndyMac's poor and loose lending practices continue, we wouldn't be where we are today. Instead of pointing false fingers of blame, OTS should start doing its job to prevent future IndyMacs.

Every year Forbes magazine comes out with a list of the world's richest people. It's usually the same group of people, but this year it's changed up a little bit.

For the past 13 years, Bill Gates has held the number one spot, but this year he was knocked from his throne to number three on the list by investor Warren Buffett with an estimated worth of $68 billion. Buffett saw a $10 billion increase in his net worth over the past year, while Gates had a $1 billion increase. In all, however, Gates is only worth $58 billion, more than a few billion shy of Buffet. In third place is Carlos Slim Helu, a Mexican telecom mogul worth $60 billion.

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of the popular social networking site Facebook, has something new to boast about as well - he's the youngest self-made billionaire to make Forbes annual list of the world's richest people. While his $1.5 billion ranked him at just #785 out of a record 1,125 billionaires globally, it didn't even rank him in the top 20 amongst Silicon Valley billionaires.

Here are some other interesting bits of trivia with regards to this year's list:

• 101 Californias made the international list, and were worth more than $317 billion in total net worth.

2008 will be a prosperous year for people who get there paychecks on Tuesday or Wednesday. The American Payroll Association says that because of the leap year, some lucky people will get one extra paycheck this year.

"In an average year, most days are repeated 52 times. In 2008, however, two days will repeat 53 times -- Tuesday and Wednesday," said Dan Maddux, executive director of the American Payroll Association. "Employees that are paid on either a Tuesday or Wednesday may get an extra paycheck in 2008."

If you are on a salary, the extra paycheck could have an adverse affect. Since their are more paydays, your take home pay could be cut down because of more paydays. That is bad news for salaried workers who live paycheck to paycheck.

There are few other times of the year that bring about as much financial pressure as Christmas. In addition to shopping for presents, there are the endless rounds of parties, feasts, Secret Santa events, additions to your winter wardrobe, and more. For most people, it is hard to know where to draw the line on spending, and at times, they find themselves facing December 25th without the money needed for presents. When that happens, where can you find emergency cash for Christmas? Here are five tips to assist you in quickly generating the cash you need for the holiday season: