He couldn’t take it with him, so his survivors are giving some back.
The estate of philanthropist Jeffry Picower, a longtime friend of swindler Bernard Madoff, is preparing to cough up a “substantial, multibillion-dollar sum” to settle a suit by the fraudster’s bankruptcy trustee, according to court papers filed yesterday.
The unspecified amount would more than double the $1.5 billion collected for Madoff investors.
Picower’s lawyer has previously said his estate was willing to fork over about $2 billion to victims of the record $65 billion Ponzi rip-off.
Picower, who was found dead in his Palm Beach, Fla., swimming pool after suffering a heart attack in October, was sued for $7.2 billion last year by trustee Irving Picard, who is liquidating Madoff’s crooked investment firm.
Picard said Picower, a former lawyer and accountant, reaped the biggest phony profits of all of Madoff investors, and either knew or should have known that his buddy was running a scam due to his astronomical returns.
In an order filed in Manhattan Bankruptcy Court, Judge Burton Lifland wrote that Picard “indicates he is on the verge of a settlement” that would finalize “months of active . . . negotiations” with Picower’s heirs, trusts and charities.
The order also suspended pending suits against Picower’s estate by investors in Florida, with Lifland saying they threatened to derail the deal with Picard.
A spokesman for Picower’s lawyer confirmed “that talks with the trustee are ongoing,” while a lawyer for Picard declined to comment.
Picower’s will — dated just 10 days before his death at age 67 — left $200 million to his wife, Barbara, $25 million to his daughter and a $10 million trust to his longtime personal assistant.