Bernie Madoff told the WSJ he was averaging annual returns of 16.3%. Sam Altman has promised annual returns of 17.5% History may not repeat …

Gary Marcus draws a historical parallel between Bernie Madoff's claimed 16.3% annual returns (which proved to be a Ponzi scheme) and Sam Altman's promised 17.5% returns, warning that similarly implausible promises of consistent high returns should raise red flags. The post cautions against repeating the mistakes of investors who were deceived by Madoff's fraudulent scheme when evaluating current financial claims.

Source: Gary Marcus (X) | 2026-05-17