Jake Bernstein
Jake Bernstein was a business and financial reporter for ProPublica.
Need to Get in Touch?
Jake Bernstein was a business reporter for ProPublica. He was featured in the Best Business Writing in 2012 and 2013.
In April 2011, Bernstein and colleague Jesse Eisinger were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for a series of stories on questionable Wall Street practices that helped make the financial crisis the worst since the Great Depression.
Prior to joining ProPublica, Bernstein worked at The Texas Observer, an investigative biweekly, for six years, and as its executive editor from 2004 to 2008. Bernstein began his career in Central America, where for several years he reported on efforts to end longstanding civil conflicts. He served as a staff writer for the Pasadena [Texas] Citizen and then for the Miami New Times. His work has received numerous state-level and national journalism awards, and The Texas Observer, under his leadership, was named Best Political Magazine of 2005 by Utne Reader. Bernstein is co-author of Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency (2006).
The Madoff Circle: Who Knew What?
Civil suits and court motions that have been filed in the Madoff case hint that a small circle of men played knowing, integral roles in the scheme, in some cases benefiting more from it than even Madoff himself. So far the evidence is mostly circumstantial.
by Jake Bernstein,
E-mails Give Glimpse of How Magnetar Worked
E-mails with business partners suggest Magnetar's clout: The firm was involved at the start of deals and pushed for riskier bonds to be included in CDOs. One deal fell apart partly because of Ischus Capital Management's unease with pressure from Magnetar.
by Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein,
The Magnetar Trade: How One Hedge Fund Helped Keep the Bubble Going
The hedge fund Magnetar helped create mortgage-based securities, pushed for risky things to go inside them and then bet against the investments, resulting in billions in losses for investors and ultimately making the financial crisis worse. It’s a story of the perverse incentives and reckless behavior that characterized the last days of the boom.
by Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein,