Jacob Ezra Merkin, commonly known as J. Ezra Merkin or 'The Rabbi,' was born on April 19, 1953. He is an American financier, investor, former hedge fund manager, and philanthropist, the son of prominent philanthropist Hermann Merkin. A fixture of the New York social and philanthropic elite, he served on the boards of prestigious institutions such as Yeshiva University and the Fifth Avenue Synagogue. Merkin founded and managed Gabriel Capital LP, a $5 billion hedge fund group, along with feeder funds including Ascot Partners and Ariel Fund, which funneled billions of dollars—over $2 billion in investor capital from charities, universities, and high-net-worth individuals—into Bernard Madoff's fraudulent investment firm, often without the explicit knowledge of his clients, while he collected hundreds of millions in fees (estimated at $470 million). He also served as non-executive chairman of GMAC. His career involved raising capital and managing funds until the 2008 financial crisis exposed massive investments in Madoff's Ponzi scheme, leading to the insolvency of one of his funds. As a central figure in the scandal's fallout, Merkin faced extensive legal actions, including a high-profile civil fraud lawsuit filed by then-New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, accusing him of betraying fiduciary duties by misleading investors. Although never found to have knowledge of the fraud, he agreed to repay all fees earned from Madoff investments spanning back historically and reached a $405 million settlement with the state of New York in 2012 to compensate victims, as well as a $280 million accord in 2018 with the Madoff bankruptcy trustee, while maintaining that he was also a victim of Madoff's deception and no findings of fraud or prior knowledge were made. Merkin resigned from several prominent roles, including his position at GMAC and numerous elite board positions in 2009, and faced significant reputational damage within the financial industry. Beyond finance, he was a renowned collector of Mark Rothko's works, famously selling a collection of 12 paintings for roughly $310 million in 2009 to satisfy creditors. He remains a significant figure in discussions regarding 'feeder funds' and the systemic failures of due diligence in the investment industry.